One of Chicago’s most expressive ballerinas, Fil-Am Christine Rocas, had long hoped to remain engaged with dance after retiring as a principal dancer from The Joffrey Ballet.
Now the company’s rehearsal director, she credits Christopher Mohnani for making that return possible by asking her to restage excerpts from works by Gerald Arpino for International Dance Day (IDD), which runs from April 22 to 26 at Samsung Theater. Mohnani, the theater’s managing director, is also founder of IDD and Circuit Makati’s arts and culture manager. She describes his persistence as central to expanding what dance can be in the Philippines.
Rocas is now rehearsal director of the renowned Joffrey Ballet.
Rocas approached the project with a sense of responsibility to her roots. Trained at Ballet Manila School, where she was later a company member, she went on to represent both BM and the Philippines in international competitions before building a 19-year career at The Joffrey Ballet. There, she performed leading roles in a wide range of canonical ballets by world-renowned choreographers, originated numerous roles in world premieres, and participated in film and musical collaborations. Rocas was known for her fluidity and movements imbued with emotional and psychological depth.
That trajectory, she suggests, makes the impulse to give back an extension of her history. Working again in Manila last February offered a way to reconnect with Filipino dancers while sharing the perspective she developed overseas.
In a dance scene where works by iconic choreographers are rarely performed, audiences at IDD will have an opportunity to see Arpino’s works. Rocas restaged excerpts from Kettentanz for Steps Dance Studio and Viva Vivaldi for the Association of Ballet Academies of the Philippines (ABAP).
Arpino, co-founder of The Joffrey Ballet, helped define an American ballet style that blends classical technique with theatrical flair, often marked by musicality, wit, and a strong ensemble. Kettentanz (“chain dance” in German) is built on linked formations and rhythmic patterns, with dancers weaving in and out of one another in a structured yet buoyant group dynamic. Viva Vivaldi is a high-spirited ensemble work set to Antonio Vivaldi’s music, known for its brisk phrasing, bright classical lines, and an undercurrent of playful competition among dancers.
Rocas noted that the restaging depended as much on institutional support as on artistic preparation, acknowledging Sofia Elizalde, artistic director of Steps, and Maritoni Rufino, ABAP president, for providing the resources needed to work with the students.
Before she hung up her pointe shoes, Rocas considered several paths, including arts management and work as a répétiteur. Charthel Arthur, director of licensing at the Arpino Foundation and a rehearsal director with The Joffrey Ballet, played a key role in her artistic development, encouraging her to evolve as a stager of Gerald Arpino’s works. Rocas acknowledges Arthur and the foundation for their generosity in allowing these excerpts to be presented to Filipino audiences.
Before she hung up her pointe shoes, Rocas considered several paths, including arts management and work as a répétiteur
“I do think that affordability is possible,” she says. “Many of Arpino’s ballets are what we call ‘lights and tights,’” meaning they don’t require elaborate sets or costumes. She describes his dances as a vivid display of athleticism, energy, emotion, and narrative. The choreography is exacting yet fluid, driven by a strong musical pulse that pushes dancers to their limits. The demands can be physically punishing, matched by the control required to make them appear effortless—a quality that carries across the stage and reaches the audience.
Rocas was among the last dancers to work with Arpino in rehearsal, and his language has stayed with her. “Lift your back” was a frequent correction; “Za,” another cue she still hears. She recalls her first artistic evaluation with him, when she admitted she was nervous. He replied, “Whenever you’re nervous, just do échappés,” a step in which the feet spring from a closed position to open apart, then return together. It became part of her pre-performance warm-up.
Years of performing his choreography now inform how she stages his ballets. The physical and artistic demands she encountered when she first left the Philippines and began finding her place in the company have become a reference point, guiding how she coaches dancers through the same challenges and clarifies the intent behind each movement.
On the last day of her performing career, Rocas was offered a post as rehearsal director with The Joffrey Ballet, a role she accepted immediately. Staging had long interested her. Since 2025, the role has kept her with the company she called home for nearly two decades, while pushing her to grow in new ways under leaders she respects, fully committed to its demands.
A typical day as rehearsal director with The Joffrey Ballet begins with company class at 9:45 am, which she or another rehearsal director teaches, and continues through rehearsals from 11:30 am to 6:30 pm. She serves as a link between choreographers, guest stagers, and dancers—safeguarding the repertoire, documenting it, and ensuring each work is performed as intended. Outside the studio, the work carries on with meetings, scheduling, emails, and casting, often extending into weekends spent reviewing videos and catching up on unfinished tasks. She is usually among the first to arrive and the last to leave, a routine she describes as demanding but fulfilling.
Off hours, she spends time with her husband, violinist Philippe Quint, walking through Chicago, trying new restaurants, traveling when his concert schedule allows. Their nonprofit organization, Magellan Arts, has already produced several concerts. She also turns to crafts such as knitting, crocheting, and sewing.
“I love being married to another artist,” she says. “There are many similarities in our work, but also unexpected things to learn from each other. Watching his preparation for each concerto has deepened my own as a dancer. It has also strengthened my musical understanding, which now helps me as a rehearsal director for new works.”
‘Kettentanz’ and ‘Viva Vivaldi’ will be staged on International Dance Day Ballet Night, April 25, 7:30 pm at Samsung Performing Arts Theater, Circuit, Makati.
