Hazel
Sabas-Gower
Lecturer of Dance
·
M.F.A in Dance
Performance and Choreography from New York University- Tisch School of the Arts
·
Diploma in the
Creative, Performing and Musical Arts from University of the Philippines-
College of Music
A former Principal Dancer of Ballet Philippines,
Ms. Sabas-Gower essayed lead roles, most notably Kitri in Don Quixote;
Lisa in Ang Pilya(La Fille Mal Gardee,
Philippine version); Carmen in Carmen; Myrtha in Giselle;
Gamzatti in La Bayadere, among
others. Ms. Sabas-Gower began her training with the Royal Academy
of Dancing syllabus. Her grants and awards include the Asian Cultural
Council of New York Grant, Colorado Council on the Arts Director’s Grant;
Cultural Center of the Philippines Young Artists Foundation and Choreographers
Showcase Grants, Madame Luva Adameit Choreographic Award in Dance by the
University of the Philippines, “Gem of the Race” Award by Distinct
Alliance in National Choreographic Endeavors, and participation in
International Choreographers Workshops by the Theatre Institute of Germany and
the American Dance Festival in North Carolina. Her critically-acclaimed
choreographies include Dracula, “Daragang Magayon”, “The
Nutcracker”, “Rite of Spring”, “Carmen Suite”, “The Firebird”,
and “Deconstructing Gershwin”. As
a Finalist in the 1st International Competition of Classical Choreography
sponsored by the City of Paris, dance critic Rene Sirvin, singled her out
in his review in France’s premiere newspaper, LE FIGARO, saying: “From the
seven competitors, only one showed real invention and originality, Hazel Sabas-Gower,
whose six excellent dancers of Ballet Memphis performed the ingenious
choreography ‘Deconstructing Gershwin’...” Ms. Sabas-Gower
was Ballet Mistress of Ballet Memphis in Tennessee for three years and
Artistic Director of Ballet Lubbock in Texas for two years. Hazel has
also taught and/or choreographed at Boulder Ballet/ Boulder Arts Academy,
Ballet Philippines, Ballet Manila, Ballet Ciutat de Barcelona in Spain, Texas
Tech University, Dance West, Youth Ballet Colorado, Westlake School of the
Performing Arts and University of the Philippines. Video recordings of
her choreographies and a paper on “Daragang Magayon” from the 1991 Manila
International Dance Conference are represented in the collection of the New
York Public Library’s Dance Division.