Maricar Drilon
Artistic Director
Maricar was born in The Philippines and received her early training from her Mother, Mercedes L. Drilon. She continued her training with Ballet Philippines (formerly CCP Dance Company), under the direction of Alice Reyes. She joined the company of in 1979 and was promoted later that year to Principal Dancer at the age of 18, performing roles such as Juliet "Romeo & Juliet", Sugar Plum Fairy and Snow Queen "The Nutcracker, "Cinderella", "Raymonda", "Swan Lake", "The Voyages of Odysseus", "Don Quixote", among others. She performed internationally with Ballet Philippines in Russia, Greece, Germany, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Hong Kong as well as the Philippine National Tour. During her years with BP, she attended University of The Philippines majoring in Theater Arts.
In 1984, she joined Ballet West under the direction of Bruce Marks and was promoted to First Soloist that same year. She performed numerous roles in ballets by Mr. Christnesen, Andre Prokovsky, and Sir Frederick Ashton to name a few.
After a yearlong hiatus from the stage, Maricar returned to the ballet world joining Eugene Ballet as a Principal Dancer under the direction of Toni Pimble. Her performances included "The Nutcracker", "Giselle", "Romeo & Juliet", "Cinderella", "A Midsummer Night's Dream", "Bolero", "Silent Movie", "Children of the Raven", and "Petrushka".
Maricar then moved to California and joined Long Beach Ballet (formerly Los Angeles Classical Ballet) as a Soloist under the direction of David Wilcox. Her repertoire included "Coppelia", "Ravelesque", "The Nutcracker", "A Midsummer Night's Dream", "The Unicorn", "Harlequinade", and "Aymara". During her years with LACB, she was a member of the faculty for the Academy of LACB where she began teaching and choreographing.
In 1993, Maricar returned to the Pacific Northwest and Joined Oregon Ballet Theater as a Principal Dancer under the direction of James Canfield. She debuted the role of Clara in the world premiere of Mr. Canfield's "The Nutcracker", Bebe Miller's "A Certain Depth of Heart... Also Love", and Carole Armitage's "Poised at the Edge of Chaos". She danced with OBT until the birth of her son, Derek. During her time with OBT, she pursued teaching Pilates and certified as a Pilates Instructor as well as a certified Gyrotonics Instructor. She recently certified in Progressing Ballet Technique as well.
