Lisa Macuja-Elizalde: ‘Whether you’re a professional dancer, an amateur or a wannabe, you can enjoy ballet at any age’
That, according to prima ballerina—or rather, the People’s Ballerina—Lisa Macuja-Elizalde, is the best thing about ballet.
“Ballet is for everyone (regardless of age, size or gender),” stresses Lisa who must have been pirouetting as early as in her mom Susan’s womb. “Even an adult learner can take up ballet to exercise or just to enjoy. Ballet is a scientific method of how to move with the music, something you can enjoy at any age. It develops everything—the right side and left side of your brain—your creative side, your logic side. It’s also a very social experience because you have classmates, it’s a whole group dancing.”
From dancer to teacher
Not that she has stashed away her tutus forever, but today, Lisa, now a proud and happy senior, enjoys teaching/mentoring at her school. “Tatiana Udalenkova, my teacher at Vaganova Academy in Russia and my second mom, still teaches at 90,” she fondly relates. “I really enjoy one-on-one coaching, especially if I’ve danced the role before and I pass it down to the next generation. Being able to create, it’s not boring at all. Every day, there’s something new you can do with your students, with your company.”
Lisa’s company is, of course, Ballet Manila, where she is artistic director and CEO.
Sadly, Lisa notes that in social media, ballet has become some kind of a sport or circus act. “People are counting the pirouettes, looking at a dancer doing eight revolutions, eight rotations. Oh, if a dancer does eight revolutions, she’s good! But the thing is, if a dancer does even just a clean double, but does it with the music, telling the story like Odette in Swan Lake, it’s effective! It’s not just about the pirouettes, not just about the leaps; it’s about the whole artistic technical performance of the ballet.”
Fit and fab at 60, and a devoted wife to tycoon Fred Elizalde and mom to Missy and Manuel, Lisa follows a regimen of healthy eating (plenty of fruits and vegetables), a healthy lifestyle (at least eight hours of sleep to allow the body to repair muscles) and positive vibes.
Lisa’s favorite role
The first foreign soloist ever to join the Kirov Ballet (Imperial Russian Ballet) in 1984 and having done 300 full-length ballets in 90 cities spanning five continents around the globe, what is Lisa’s favorite role?
“The Swan (in the most-loved classic ballet Swan Lake),” comes Lisa’s categorical reply. “I think I’ve done about 40-plus Swan Lake all over the world, with a lot of guestings in Russia.”
And what was her most memorable Swan Lake performance?
“I can’t forget the first,” says Lisa with an impish smile, “because it was a disaster.
I danced the full-length Swan Lake for the first time in 1990 in Havana, Cuba only after four days of rehearsal. And my first Prince Siegfried was Ernesto Quenedit who could only speak Spanish and I could only speak English.”
Lisa recounts that when Swan Lake premiered in Russia, it was a flop. It was then redone and repremiered, and instantly became the greatest ballet of all time.
Missteps and mishaps are inevitable. “I fell many times while performing,” Lisa discloses. “There are some falls you can’t hide and the audience would just gasp. You basically just pick yourself up—unless you sustained a sprained ankle—and continue as if nothing happened.”
The return of the swan
There’s so much happening at Ballet Manila, which is celebrating its pearl year (30th anniversary).
Lisa shares over lunch at Aliw Theater, “When I was planning our pearl year, I asked myself, ‘What ballet would define a company, will say it has arrived and can really call itself a classical ballet company in its true form?’ Hands down, it’s Swan Lake! It’s the most famous classical ballet in the world and it’s been made into a movie.”
Swan Lake is a timeless ballet composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875-1876. “It’s a fairy tale, a story of love and deception,” Lisa describes.
“There’s a huge demand from the soloists in Swan Lake,” says Lisa. “There used to be two soloists playing the White Swan and the Black Swan (Lisa played both many times in the past). But then, one ballerina wanted all the glory to herself so she played both. And it’s really very challenging because Odette and Odile are two very different characters. Odette is soft, very innocent, very vulnerable while Odile is strong, feisty, manipulative, seductive.”
For Swan Lake, Ballet Manila is flying in San Francisco Ballet artists Esteban Hernandez, principal dancer; Katherine Barkman, first soloist; and Nathaniel Remez, soloist. Abigail Oliveiro of Ballet Manila is also performing.
Despite the jet lag after a 15-hour flight from San Francisco, expect only a beautiful Swan Lakeperformance from these brilliant, seasoned artists.
Looking at her students and her great achievements in the world of ballet, can Lisa now sit back and enjoy?
“I can’t just sit down and not do something,” Lisa protests. “I have to be doing something all the time, it’s very hard for me to just relax.”
Because for Lisa, her best performance is yet to come.
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Swan Lake performances are set on May 30, 8 p.m.; May 31, 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.; June 1, 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. at Aliw Theater, Pasay City. Tickets are available at Ticketworld. There will also be seven performances in Dumaguete.