Maleficent becomes Emma Harris – but only on stage
Emma Harris says of playing the villain Maleficent in Lisa Macuja-Elizalde’s Sleeping Beauty: “It’s quite fun to be evil and feel powerful on stage!” Photo by Jojit Lorenzo; Make-up by Myrene Santos
By Jv Ramos
Many ballerinas dream of adding a princess role to their repertoire. Ballet Manila’s Emma Harris is no exception to this.
But these days, the 21-year-old is very much contented with working on her role as the villain in Sleeping Beauty. “I’m just having a blast being Maleficent,” affirms the company artist. “It’s quite fun to be evil and feel powerful on stage!”
Channeling a character far different from her own was a challenge Ballet Manila company artist Emma Harris readily embraced. Photo by Jimmy Villanueva
Set to debut on January 18, this ballet is the last installment to Lisa Macuja-Elizalde’s Princess Trilogy. And much like in the prima ballerina’s Cinderella and Snow White, the antagonist is one of the reasons people should come and see the production.
“I’ve watched many ballets of Sleeping Beauty, and in those, Maleficent doesn’t do much dancing,” observes Emma. “She or he [some choreographies feature a male dancer as the evil fairy] just does a lot of miming and acting. In the choreography of Ma’am Lise [Lisa Macuja Elizalde], my character actually dances!”
While the facial expressions and gestures are dramatic and a treat to watch, serious ballerinas such as Emma can’t help but prefer roles that test one’s classical technique and acting abilities. With much enthusiasm, she continues, “My Maleficent, like the Princess Aurora, has her share of fouettes [a whipped turn that’s not often seen in Sleeping Beauty ballets]. Not to mention, this evil fairy wears a tutu, which is also unusual. Often, she’s just portrayed wearing a long black dress.”
Asked if she based the mistress of evil on a particular adaptation, Emma shares that to get into the zone, she really studied different versions of Maleficent. “I then pulled the elements that interested me and put these together. My Maleficent, therefore, is not just based on one thing.”
This United States-born ballerina, who transplanted herself to the Philippines in July 2018, adds that since Macuja-Elizalde’s choreography is very animated, there’s really a lot of room for her to expound on the character of Maleficent. “I've taken something from each version [I’ve encountered] and kind of made my own version,” she sums up.
As one of the wicked stepsisters in Cinderella, Emma had to fake being bad at dancing. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag
So, are there any challenges involved when one gets cast in a role that’s so fun to do? Emma replies that her main challenge is pairing the choreography so well with the music. “Because the way Ma'am Lise choreographed it is really based on the music. One has to accentuate the music with one's movements. It's really challenging to do that. But I just love everything about Maleficent.”
Gushing, Emma raves, “I like how she tortures Aurora; and I especially like it when she’s lifted by many male dancers. When I’m up in the air, I just feel so powerful! I really am very thankful that I was given this opportunity. It definitely isn’t something I’m used to, but I’m glad to have explored a different kind of character. Maleficent is nothing like the roles I’ve played before. Also, I’m nothing like her.”
This is a fact attested to by principal dancer Jasmine Pia Dames, the Princess Aurora to Emma’s Maleficent, who describes the latter as nice and easy to talk to. During their joint interview, the two exchanged banter and laughed together over their shared experiences while rehearsing.
Among Emma’s list of challenges is the overall villain appearance. “When I did a photo shoot for the role, I was in the makeup chair and wore my costume for a very long time. It was all worth it though as the pictures turned out great.”
Emma (right) was the reflection in the mirror and the alter-ego of the Evil Queen (principal dancer Abigail Oliveiro) in Snow White. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag
One part in the ballet may be a bit daunting, though. For in this Sleeping Beauty, in tying up the Princess Trilogy, will feature characters from Cinderella and Snow White, too. And Emma has been tasked to be one of the wicked stepsisters from Cinderella, a role which she played before. “The make-up and quick costume change scare me, but that’s just part of the challenge.”
Having been exposed to the ballet scenes in the US and Europe and the different ballet adaptations of Sleeping Beauty, Emma points out what makes Ballet Manila’s upcoming production different. “I love that Ms. Lise has put her own spin on it – that there's comedy in the story,” notes Emma. “She really has come up with a ballet that everyone can love, especially the kids. It's very classical but her own spin on the fairy tale makes it exciting.”
“Definitely, I'd love to be a princess someday, but right now, I’m really just having so much fun being the villain!” shares Emma. Maleficent, in fact, is her third time to be an antagonist in a princess ballet choreographed by Ballet Manila’s artistic director. Aside from being cast as a stepsister in Cinderella, she was the evil witch who disguises herself as an old beggar in Snow White.
Being the “queen of mean” is a persona she assumes with gusto on stage. “Playing a villain is great. It’s fun to play roles that are very different from your character in real life!”
In Sleeping Beauty, Emma as Maleficent makes life difficult for Princess Aurora (principal dancer Jasmine Pia Dames) but they are friends in real life. Photo by Jimmy Villanueva
