MANILA – Stella Abrera made history in 2015 when she became the first Filipino-American to ascend to the rank of principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre (ABT).

And now, she is in town for a benefit show with her fellow ABT stars Gillian Murphy, Isabella Boylston, Blaine Hoven, Roman Zhurbin, Arron Scott, Jose Sebastian, Catherine Hurlin, and Joowon Ahn.

“An Intimate Evening with Stella Abrera and American Ballet Stars” will be staged at the Maybank Performing Arts Theater in Bonifacio Global City on April 6 and 7.

The shows will be for the benefit of Ayala Foundation’s CENTEX (Center of Excellence in Public Elementary Education) program.

In a press preview on Tuesday, Abrera recalled how they were able to mount the show with help from the Ayala Group and Sofia Zobel Elizalde, managing director of Steps dance studio.

“Sophia and I became friends in New York… We had a mutual friend introduce us. We had a great Mexican dinner one night and we started joking around about how fun it would be if we could put a show together one day. That was two years ago,” she said.

She continued: “Then I saw that there was a little break for us ABT dancers after our Asia tour to Singapore and Hong Kong, and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to bring some of my best friends to show some of my favorite pieces to the Philippines. So I called up Sofia and said, ‘Let’s go girl, let’s do this!’ And then it kind of step by step, piece by piece [came together]. After months of hard work and planning, we’re all here at this point.”

Abrera considers her upcoming shows in Manila a “dream gig,” comparing it with her usual performances as a professional ballet dancer. “It’s a beautiful, well-oiled machine. We’re able to come in and work on our craft and not be stressed about things in a theater,” she said.

“This is quite a luxury for us. At ABT, we’re used to going into the theater and rehearsing for a bit on stage to kind of get acclimated to the space for a couple of hours. Then, we have to be ready for the show that night. We’re so grateful to be on stage, on this theater, this early in the process.”

The Fil-Am principal dancer added that her Manila performances have a special spot in her heart, citing her recent encounter with the kids at CENTEX.

“I don’t think there was a dry eye among us,” she said. “They got us right at the moment we stepped through the gates of their wonderful school.”

“There were little kids who have only been training in ballet for a year, and that’s when the waterworks started for me. Their performance was really sweet, it was a beautiful dance for us… It was a remarkable, memorable experience, something we’ll never forget,” she added.

When asked to give tips to aspiring ballet dancers, Abrera stressed the importance of passion and dedication, saying that her career is “quite difficult physically and emotionally.”

“There are so many reasons why we love to do what we do. But in the end, it’s something that we’re born with, like there’s a drive and a passion that pushes us forward… You drive yourself forward through the ups and downs, you drive yourself forward through the hard times,” she said.

“I’ve been a professional dancer for 22 years and it seems too funny to say that it’s a fleeting moment, but it is. These 22 years have flown by even though I’ve been through so many stages of it. So there’s that element of it, too. There’s the appreciation of being able to do what I love to do that you wouldn’t think of why you love to do it. You just know you have to do it because you can’t live without doing it. I’m savoring every second.”

For more details about the show, visit the websites of Ayala Foundation and TicketWorld.