WHENEVER the subject of ballet comes up anywhere you may be in the Philippines, you can be sure that there is always one name that instantly comes to mind: Lisa Macuja.
Lisa is currently celebrating her 25th anniversary as a ballerina and is fresh off showcasing her world-class talent and proving she is truly the country’s prima ballerina with last month’s Giselle, one of the most well-loved ballets of all time, which was staged at the Aliw Theatre.
At 45, Lisa is still at her finest form as when she first started, disproving the myth that ballet is only for the young. Lisa credits her Russian training (she was schooled in Russia’s Vaganova Choreographic Institute and became the first foreigner to join the prestigious Kirov Ballet) for the longevity of her ballet career and has been passing on the Vaganova tradition to the dancers and students of Ballet Manila, which she established 15 years ago. Ballet Manila is now considered as the country’s premiere classical ballet company
Believing the Russian standards of classical ballet to be the highest in the world, she engages in a constant exchange of training and performances for her company.
On July 10, ten of today’s finest Russian ballet dancers will perform with Ballet Manila in a one-night-only gala concert billed as Today’s Stars of the Russian Ballet with Ballet Manila.
"It is simply hard to beat more than 250 years of tradition in classical ballet handed down from one generation of Russian artists to the next," Lisa enthuses. "This gala will not only be first-class entertainment, but I believe it will reveal to Manila audiences how global our own standards of dancing are in the local arts scene. It is a wonderful opportunity to see these artists perform here in Manila and not have to go abroad to enjoy international star-studded concerts like this one."
The gala features headliners of the world’s top ballet companies—the Bolshoi Ballet of Moscow, the Mariinsky Ballet of St. Petersburg, and the Dutch National Ballet of Amsterdam. The program showcases the revered classics of ballet, neo-classical pieces as well as dynamic contemporary choreographies.
The featured numbers are Le Corsaire pas de deux and Don Quixote pas de deux, Romeo and Juliet balcony scene, Giselle, Flames of Paris pas de deux and others.
Ballet Manila will be supporting with several numbers from its repertoire as well. (AJPress)
( Published June 25, 2010 in Red Carpet Magazine p. 2 )
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