CRISTINA FARGAS-NEWELL
BALLET MISTRESS
Choreographer & Coach
Ballet Senior & Junior Pre-Professional Program
Cristina, fondly called Ms. Tina, has been a teacher, choreographer, and coach at WSPA for 22 years. Her choreography has garnered the school top awards in competitions such as the Youth America Grand Prix, World Ballet Competition, New York City Dance Alliance, and most recently at the Spotlight Dance Cup. In 2016, she was named outstanding teacher at YAGP, Las Vegas. In July 2017, she returned to her home-town, Bacolod City, Philippines and was presented with a National Award for Mentorship at the 2nd C-MAP Choreographer’s Festival Internationale.
Tina began her ballet training at the age of 5 under the tutelage of Lydia Gaston. At 16 years of age, she began her apprenticeship with the Cultural Center of the Philippines Dance Company, also known as Ballet Philippines (BP). In 1980 she was accepted as a member of BP and danced as soloist soon after. For 11 years she danced for BP and assumed the position of rehearsal mistress from 1985 - 1999. She taught ballet and modern dance to the apprentice of BP, CCP Dance School & The Philippines School of the Arts. While with BP she had the privilege to perform alongside internationally acclaimed artists like Natalia Makarova, Fernando Bujones, Patrick Bissell, Martin Van Hamel, John Meehan, Leslie Brown, Joyce Cuoco, Yoko Morishita, and Alicia Alonso. In the Ballet Classics, she performed lead roles in Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, Giselle, La Bayadere, Cinderella, Les Sylphides, Paquita and Napoli. In 1991, Tina was invited to join the City Contemporary Dance Company in Hong Kong where she continued her professional career until 1996. In the 16 years of her dancing career, Tina has toured Russia, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Venezuela, Canada, USA, and most of Asia. The mentors who inspired her most are Alice Reyes, Norman Walker, William Morgan, Luminita Dumitrescu, Mikael Kukarev, Armin Wilde, Laura Alonso, Helen Lai, and Denisa Reyes. Tina has a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing Management from De La Salle University, Philippines.