25 Life Lessons I Learned From Ballet - #16
Beyond the arabesques and grand jetés, ballet is an abundant source of priceless life lessons. With the rigorous training and intense discipline it requires, ballet can teach one how to deal with pressure, disappointments, challenges, and ultimately, success. On her 25th anniversary as a professional dancer in 2009, prima ballerina Lisa Macuja-Elizalde took the time to list down 25 key lessons she learned from ballet and which she felt both dancers and non-dancers can apply in their own lives. This series shares those enduring nuggets of wisdom – one lesson at a time.
Just as Gabriela Komleva had mentored her, Ballet Manila artistic director Lisa Macuja-Elizalde also passed on her knowledge to then soloist Jasmine Pia Dames in 2017. It was Pia’s first time to be cast as Kitri in a full-length production of Don Quixote and was keen to learn about the role and its many complex movements from the prima ballerina. Photo by Jimmy Villanueva
By Lisa Macuja-Elizalde
16. Learn to listen – to the music, to your body, to your teachers, to your partners and yes, to your critics. When you learn how to listen, you learn how to improve. Feedback from someone watching you can only be constructive because you can never really see yourself from a distance.
Nothing is ever really finished. Even a completed choreography such as Gerardo “Geri” Francisco’s Ibong Adarna, which has already been performed by Ballet Manila on several occasions, would still go through several rounds of critique and corrections before and after every staging. In this photo, Geri is seen attentively rehearsing the dancers before the company’s first-ever performance in Israel for the 2018 Karmiel Festival. Photo by Mark Sumaylo
Top photo: Preparing to dance as Kitri in her first full-length Don Quixote, a young Lisa Macuja listened intently to the instructions of ballet mistress and coach Gabriela Komleva on how to use the fan. Paying close attention to these little details passed on to her by her mentors helped Lisa offer the audience a more nuanced performance. Kitri eventually became her signature role. Photo from the Ballet Manila Archives