Passion and Purpose Welcomes the Holiday Season With Ballet and Music for a Cause
Photographed by Roy Pelovello, courtesy of InLife Foundation
InLife Foundation’s 57th anniversary brings together Philippine Ballet Theatre, Hampton Court Ballet School, and Jose Mari Chan’s music for an evening of ballet and OPM.
It was on a Sunday evening in September, still quite far from the holiday season if we’re being honest, when the lights of Tanghalang Haribon were lit with more than just theatrical lighting, but also a glint of holiday colors. For a country that starts the holiday countdown the moment September first arrives, that tradition has made its way into Passion and Purpose, which used a lineup of Jose Mari Chan songs for the production.
To mark its 57th anniversary, InLife Foundation collaborated with Philippine Ballet Theatre (PBT) and Hampton Court Ballet School to stage Passion and Purpose, a fundraising event celebrating Filipino artistry and Original Pilipino Music (OPM) while supporting the collaborators’ scholarship programs.
“They come together around one very important belief: that we can change a young person’s life when we choose to invest in them,” says Erica Marquez, co-founder and artistic director of Hampton Court Ballet and former ballerina of PBT.
“And I don’t want to simply tell you about that. I want you to see the proof,” she adds. “Hampton Court Ballet scholars and alumni now dance with Philippine Ballet Theatre, Repertory Philippines, Ballet Philippines, Alice Reyes Dance Philippines, and on other professional platforms. All of them are now armed with skill and artistry, and there are more because they were gifted scholarship opportunities,”
The PBT has been doing its signature production, “On the Wings of Song,” also known as the “Jose Mari Chan Suite,” for quite some time now. It includes Chan’s best-known songs, including “Please Be Careful With My Heart,” “Can We Just Stop and Talk Awhile,” “Perhaps Love,” “Beautiful Girl,” “Movie Fan,” and “Tsuper ng Aking Buhay.”
One of the ballerinas, Eloisa Jessa Tangalin, says that doing the show also means being given the platform to share the joy while having the opportunity to show what they can do. As a former scholar herself who started at five years old, she sees herself in the scholars who are just beginning their stories.
“Now that I’m a professional dancer, I really believe that this show is very important for our audiences to see how even such a small offering or support can change a kid’s life. You never know what will happen to them. Maybe one day they’ll realize that they can be a professional dancer. I really hope this inspires the young dancers and audiences,” she says.
The show will benefit InLife Foundation’s education programs, Philippine Ballet Theatre’s Adopt-a-Dancer Program, and Hampton Court Ballet School Scholarship Fund.
Frequently Asked Questions
Jose Mari Chan is a Filipino singer, songwriter, and businessman widely dubbed the Philippines’ “King of Christmas Carols.” Famous for timeless hits like “Christmas in Our Hearts” and “Beautiful Girl,” his music serves as the unofficial soundtrack to the Philippine holiday season.
The InLife Foundation is the corporate social responsibility arm of Insular Life (InLife), the country’s first and largest Filipino life insurance company. Established to empower underserved communities, the foundation focuses its grant-making on education, environmental protection, disaster response, and community development.
Founded in 1986, the Philippine Ballet Theatre (PBT) is one of the country’s resident classical ballet companies. PBT is celebrated for preserving classical ballet repertoire while creating original, proudly Filipino works that integrate local heritage, folklore, and contemporary music.
Hampton Court Ballet School is a premier classical ballet academy based in Muntinlupa City, Metro Manila. Co-founded by former PBT dancers Erica Marquez-Jacinto and Lucas Jacinto, the school provides rigorous pre-professional classical training while offering full scholarships to talented, underprivileged young dancers.
Passion and Purpose was staged on September 20, 2026, at Tanghalang Haribon in Insular Life Corporate Centre, Alabang. Organized to celebrate the InLife Foundation’s 57th anniversary, the benefit show merged classical dance with Jose Mari Chan’s compositions to raise funds for PBT’s Adopt-a-Dancer program and Hampton Court Ballet’s scholarship initiative.