AT 20, Mary Beatriz Saludares was poised for a brilliant international career as a ballerina. Even in her younger days, choreographers and artistic directors noted her star quality.
But that promise was cut short last Feb. 20 while Mary was on tour with the Washington Ballet Studio Company in Harford, Maryland. After a performance at Harvard College, Saludares stepped out with friends to grab a bite in a convenience store.
Walking ahead of her friends, she crossed Route 24 at Edgewood. She was hit by a car driven by a 73-year-old man on green light. She died upon arrival at the hospital.
Disbelief
On Feb. 21, Saturday noon in Manila, Mary?s mother, Marissa Saludares, 51, got a call from Upper Chesapeake Hospital.
?At first I was in disbelief. I couldn?t breathe and finish the call,? she said. She gave the phone to son Bryan. ?After an hour, he declared, ?Mary?s gone.? I was in denial for two hours.?
Immediately, a charitable soul paid for Bryan?s airfare so that a relative could be with Mary. The Saludareses got help to raise funds to fly Mary?s remains back to Manila.
Marissa?s former high school classmates at College of the Holy Spirit, batch ?75, helped, and so did other alumni who reached out to Filipino families in Maryland to hold a memorial service.
Marissa?s brother, who?s based in New York, Richard Suyosa, and two other relatives there also helped. The Washington Ballet (TWB) held a tribute to Mary.
Sofia Zobel-Elizalde, director of Steps Dance Studio where Mary had her training, reserved a chapel at Santuario de San Antonio for the wake. Many visitors came to condole with Mary?s family?her father, Jose Saludares Jr., 56, and her two older brothers, Patrick, 29, and Bryan, 25, and mom Marissa.
The funeral mass on March 4 paid tribute to the vibrant artist. The Don Bosco Choir and Mary?s former classmates at Steps performed the ?Our Father.? She was buried at Heritage Park in Taguig.
Namesake
Mary was born on Sept. 8, 1988, the birthday of the Blessed Mother. Early in life, she already displayed natural talent.
?When she was a year old, her first steps were on tiptoe. I thought her feet were deformed. It turned out she was meant to be a dancer,? says Marissa.
Her daughter was also fiercely independent, even as a child. For instance, she?d tell the school guard to stop the cars so she could cross the street even without an adult guide.
At six, Mary began training at Steps Dance Studio, following the English style, the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) syllabus. She considered Raul Sauz and Sofia as the most influential mentors in her life.
Gifted with long proportions, large expressive eyes, fluid arms and a well-rounded technique, Mary always stood out. As a dance major at the University of the Philippines, she also got a full scholarship at Steps.
Sauz recalled that in the National Music Competition for Young Artists in 2004, Mary injured her ankle, but ?she rehearsed in pain but never showed it. She never complained. In the studio, she was always involved and never dispassionate. Mary was always calm.?
With hard work and determination, she won the Luva Adameit Award for promising dancers.
After getting high marks in the toughest and ultimate level of RAD, the Solo Seal, Mary became the first Filipina to represent the country in the Adeline Geneé competition in 2006, a contest among the best of the best RAD-trained dancers. Her competition piece, a lyrical neoclassic work by Yuri Ng, brought people to tears. However, the competition was just too stiff, although many judges felt Mary should have at least made it to the finals.
Breakthrough
With her ideal physique and physical eloquence, she got a summer dance scholarship at the School of American Ballet. While in New York, she joined auditions and was accepted at the Jacqueline Onassis Kennedy School of Ballet and Alvin Ailey Dance Company.
The Joffrey Ballet and BalletMet Columbus offered her the pre-professional program. Mary chose The Washington Ballet, which provided the best package.
In fall of 2006, Mary flew to Washington D.C., took a train and hopped on a cab which took her to her flat. The next day, she took her classes at TWB?s school. She led a normal life?getting a part-time job at the school reception desk, taking classes and rehearsing into the evening. She and her mother chatted everyday.
Mary was cast as Odette in ?Swan Lake? during the TWB School recital. TWB artistic director Septime Weber was awed by her mellifluous dancing. Eventually, she got a slot in the Studio Company, TWB?s junior group.
The show was about four aging cabaret singers reminiscing their lost youth. During rehearsals, the original lead dancer did not meet expectations. The night before the show, Mary was cast as lead and quickly learned her dances. On opening night, the audience gave her a standing ovation.
Mary also performed with TWB, enjoying her bit role as the nanny in ?The Nutcracker,? and in ?Highland Fling,? a series of ballets with a Scottish theme that was performed at the Kennedy Performing Arts Center a week before the tragedy.
At the funeral Mass, it wasn?t just Mary?s attributes that people commended. Friends and sympathizers admired her family as well for calmly accepting the tragedy.
Marissa quotes Fr. John Renate and Fr. Jun Sescon as saying that Mary may have had a short life, but it was the quality that counted: ?If God would ask her what she did with her life, she would have a long list. Her mission was already accomplished.?
