JOEY Concepcion, Venezuelan Ambassador Manuel Iturbe, Anna Marie Periquet, Jill Beckingham, British Ambassador Peter Beckingham, Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay, Manila Bulletin vice president Carmen Suva, Cuban Ambassador Jorge Rey Jimenez (back turned)
MANILA, Philippines - There’s nothing like a mid-week break to de-stress our busy and chaotic lives. Last Wednesday, my husband Dennis and I spent the evening watching classical tenor Paul Potts at the PICC. Listening to classic and contemporary opera songs was highly therapeutic.
My weeks are so full these days, with marathon training, “Celebrity Duets” judging and “House Life” taping, so just sitting in the dark and imbibing the ambience was perfection.
The well-attended concert also featured our very own talent Rachelle Gerodias. This outstanding opera diva has such a powerful and focused voice. Last year, when I was a contestant on “Celebrity Duets,” I requested Rachelle for one of my performances, but the production staff wisely advised against it as my froggy voice would have been obliterated by her soprano. Rachelle stole the PICC show, with the audience loudly cheering on this extraordinary talent.
The lovely thing is that Paul Potts was clearly appreciative to share the stage with Rachelle. The Brit tenor was very humble, telling stories about his life in that understated and endearing British manner. Of course, the YouTube generation knows that he started off as a phone salesman until he was discovered on Simon Cowell’s “Britain’s Got Talent” program.
I am getting into the classical music habit. On Oct. 17, the Philippine Youth Symphonic Band will be performing in “Laro… Child’s Play” with special guest May Bayot. The band will be playing familiar folk songs, cleverly arranged into various music versions like reggae, jazz and pop. The concert starts 6:30 p.m. at the Rockwell Tent. For tickets, as always, call Ticketworld, 8919999.
Child-friendly gym
Because our lives are so busy, many women I know worry about how much time they are able to spend with their kids. Thank goodness there are now so many child-focused facilities to help us out.
One of the newest is Game Gym, a fitness center designed for kids. Richard Barria, president of Game Gym, believes adding fun to physical activities makes the kids enjoy while getting much-needed exercise. This sure beats the thumb-eye stuff they usually do.
The main focus of Game Gym is fitness exercise through exciting interactive games like virtual boxing, target kicking and more. There is a rotating Climbing Wall that improves hand-eye-feet coordination. The Sportwall is a multi-interactive equipment that encourages teamwork and social skills while doing obstacle courses.
Most importantly, Game Gym trainers provide programs for hyperactive children and special kids such as those diagnosed with ADHD and autism. Game Gym is at One Kennedy Place, Ortigas Avenue corner Club Filipino Avenue, San Juan (tel. 4742894).
At the Game Gym opening, I enjoyed the dance pad the most. The challenge is to follow the steps to match the beat. I’ve always wanted to learn the Argentinean Tango. It is such a romantic dance with matching sexy costumes.
Dance gym
For such a romantic dance though, the place to learn is the Kessel Dance & Fitness studio that recently opened at the 5th Level, The Learning Center, Walter Mart, corner Chino Roces and Arnaiz Avenues, Makati City. Latin DanceSport champion Anna Marie Periquet has recently opened Kessel (tel. 5665104 or visit www.kesseldance.com), her new dance center where everyone can learn their dream dance passion.
Kessel offers a wide array of dance and fitness classes such as Aero-bix, Beginners Ballroom, Body Works, Cardio Hip-hop, Classic Ballet and Jazz for kids, and even yoga. Anna is a multifaceted entrepreneur and civic servant, with the added ability of being able to pirouette from the boardroom to the ballroom. Her grand opening guests included Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay, Walter Mart chair Wilson Lim and quite a number of ambassadors.
The studio also offers an open floor for dance practice and private dance lessons, and taking advantage of this right now are Anna and her Silver Jubilarian classmates from Assumption High School Batch 1983. Their Velada Day is next Sunday, Oct. 19, and as every Assumptionista knows, this is a BIG day.
Assumption gig
It is Old Girls’ Day once again at Assumption San Lorenzo. It’s the time of year when the many fine alumnae of the Assumption wear the classic plaid uniform and enjoy a whole day of fanfare. Aside from the 1983 Silver Jubilarians, participating batches include HS ’48, HS ’58, HS ’68, HS ’73 and
HS ’78. Registration begins 8:30 a.m. and Bishop Bacani celebrates Sunday Mass at 10 a.m.
The highly entertaining Velada program at the Mother Rose Auditorium starts 3:30 p.m. Freddie Santos, my co-judge at “Celebrity Duets,” is the Velada director, so I am sure the batch will deliver a smashing, Broadway-inspired show.
Velada head Crickette Yu-Tantoco is incredibly happy with the batch’s support and all the sponsors as well. Committee heads Ana de Villa-Singson and Gina Gamboa-Pimentel have been actively promoting Old Girls’ Day as it celebrates the closing of the Canonization year of St. Marie Eugenie and the 50th anniversary of Assumption San Lorenzo.
Food bazaar
On the same weekend as the Velada is Pink Kitchen, the annual food bazaar of the icanserve Foundation headed by Kara Alikpala. Aside from all the exciting food stalls and desserts, there will be kids cooking by Mel Francisco, make-up tips by Adora and coffee preparation by Boyd Coffee on Saturday, Oct. 18. The next day will have cake decorating by Buddy Trinidad, healthy cooking by Bob Pengson and wine seminar by Inez Cabarrus.
ABS-CBN Publishing and the Lifestyle Network are the presenters of Pink Kitchen. For information, call 6873942 or e-mail them at pinkkitchen08@yahoo.com.
Pink Kitchen is good food for a good cause. It’s the sort of event that makes one feel, no matter how busy and chaotic our lives might be, there are still many causes worth squeezing in that will ultimately benefit so many.
Copyright 2009 Philippine Daily Inquirer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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