Philip Joseph Sicat
(Elsie Irkland)
Born in Japan Philip started dancing at the Manila Dance Center, training under Tony Fabella, Luther Perez, and Eddie Elejar, and continued his studies at the Philippine High School for the Arts. He joined Ballet Philipinnesr in 2007 and in the same year won Third Prize at the NAMCYA Junior Ballet Division. He also served as the alma mater’s resident ballet teacher in 2009-2010.In 2010, He became a company member and essayed the title role in Edna Vida’s Peter Pan and the solo role Pedro in Don Quixote.
He won Third Prize at the 2010 NAMCYA Senior Ballet Division and competed at the First Boston International Ballet Competition in 2011.
Elicited gasps from the jury at the Varna Competition in her variation from “Le Corsaire” in which she executed 64 double fouttes accompanying herself on the tenor saxophone and finishing with four backflips en croissant into a a triple tour en l’aire landing in a split. After she repeated this feat in New York, Critic Clive Barnes paid homage to her with these words: Irkland’s dancing, if it can be called that, represents the greatest debacle in classical ballet that this writer has ever witnessed.
“Encouraged by such praise, Elsie has interpolated the very same enchainment into every ballet in her repertoire including “Les Sylphides,” “La Bayadere” and “Four Temperments.”