For principal ballerina Pia Dames, the dancing never stops
When the pandemic is over, Pia Dames wants to dance as Kitri again, as she first did in the full-length version of Don Quixote in 2017. Photo by Ocs Alvarez
By Jv Ramos
“Ready na! Sobrang ready na ako!” (I’m ready! I’m so ready to dance!) These were the words of Ballet Manila principal dancer Pia Dames when asked if she was prepared to take the stage should the theaters suddenly open tomorrow. Said without any hesitation, her answer comes as no surprise, for throughout the pandemic, she has consistently been filling her days with ballet classes and strengthening workouts.
Principal dancer Jasmine Pia Dames tries to consistently fill her days with ballet classes and strengthening workouts. Photo from Pia Dames’ Instagram page
By ballet classes, this petite yet powerful ballerina doesn’t mean just taking company classes or finding supplementary lessons to take online. She basically pushes herself to perform a variation each day in her living room despite the limited space. “Depende ‘yan sa mood ko,” notes our subject. “May mga days na feel ko maging Kitri at may mga araw naman na feel ko maging Esmeralda. Basta, gusto ko lang sumayaw nang sumayaw at mag-workout to keep me sane.” (That depends on my mood. There are days when I feel like being Kitri and there are days when I want to be Esmeralda. I just want to dance and dance and do workouts to keep me sane!)
Though seen in her social media smiling as she nails iconic variations in her own home, Pia notes that she’s like every other dancer these days. “Mahirap talaga makahanap ng motivation during the pandemic. Sobrang nakaka-depress kasi ang situation na walang shows, walang live audience, at na hindi mo mapapakita sa iba ang passion mo for dancing. Siguro, ang nagpapa-motivate na lang sa akin ay ang hope na makakasayaw ulit kami.” (It’s very hard to find motivation during the pandemic. It’s really depressing to not have shows, not be performing in front of a live audience, and to not be able to share your passion for dance with others. Perhaps what keeps me motivated is the hope that we will be able to dance again after this.)
Stretching exercises as part of her workout program have helped Pia extend the range of her flexibility. Photo from Pia Dames’ Instagram page
For Pia, it also helps that her ballet idols such as Marianela Nuñez and Natalia Osipova have been doing their best to remain busy and passionate about dance despite the situation affecting the whole world. “Kapag naka-online ako, nasa Instagram lang ako most of the time, tinitignan ang accounts nila. Sobrang nakaka-inspire sila. Sayaw lang din sila nang sayaw kahit walang live shows.” (Whenever I’m online, I’m just on Instagram, scrolling through their feeds. They’re very inspiring. They keep dancing even if there are no live shows.)
Regarding the workouts, strengthening is something that Pia had added to her daily routine long before the pandemic. It didn’t matter if she would spend many hours rehearsing for a show, this ballerina would always find a way to insert a workout then. “Lagi kasi akong injured dati to the point na kinailangan na raw operahin ang tuhod ko. Pero hindi natuloy iyon, kasi talagang trinabaho ko ang pag-strengthen dito.” (I used to be always injured to the point that they said I needed knee surgery. That didn’t happen though, since I really worked hard on strengthening my knee.)
She has chosen to continue working out even without regular performances so that she doesn’t have to worry about being out of shape when the next season comes. “Feel ko po talaga na ang big change sa dancing ko nitong pandemic ay ang pagkawala ng aking stamina. Hindi kasi kami sa sayaw na nakatutok, tapos kapag sumasayaw naman, kulang na kulang ang space… So pag dumating na ang time na puwede na kaming mag-perform, gusto ko na strong ang katawan ko para sa dami ng classes and rehearsals. Gusto ko rin na ang stamina lang ang tra-trabahuhin ko.” (I feel that the big change that happened to my dancing during this pandemic is the lack of stamina since we don’t dance for long hours and we do it in a small environment… When the time comes that we are able to perform again, I want my body to be strong enough to take the amount of company classes and rehearsals. I want my body to be strong, so that all I’ll worry about is building my stamina.)
Twins Pia (right) and Pearl Dames have a little bit of fun with their mom, Maria Hawkins, in front of Ballet Manila’s Sleeping Beauty poster with Pia cast in the lead in January 2020. Photo by Ramon Angelia
Pia recalls the amount of stamina needed for her first full-length role as Kitri in Don Quixote in 2017. “Nu’ng una ko siyang ni-run nang tuloy-tuloy, sobrang pagod na pagod ako after Act I. Nakahilata lang ako sa backstage. Kung sasayawin mo si Kitri, kailangan 110 percent talaga ang stamina mo! Baka pa nga more ang kailangan mong stamina, especially sa unang act.” (The first time I danced it continuously, I got so exhausted, after Act I. I couldn’t move backstage. When dancing Kitri, your stamina needs to be at 110 percent! You may even need more, especially for the first act.)
She adds that despite the role’s demands, Don Quixote is the classical production that she would like to perform first post-pandemic. “Alam ko kasi na mas ma-i-improve ko pa ang dati kong Kitri. Alam ko na rin kung anong parts ang puwede ko pang galingan.” (I know that I can further improve my old Kitri. I also know which parts I’d really like to work on better.) Now with a stronger build, this Ballet Manila talent also wants to experience dancing the role without dealing with injuries.
Dancing in a mall show in November 2020 was a bit scary, says Pia, but she was also happy since it was the first time she and sister Pearl performed on stage in eight months. Photo from Pia Dames’ Instagram page
With no live performances happening yet, Pia, like most of her colleagues, has been busy with teaching at the Lisa Macuja School of Ballet. “Mahirap siyempre ang online teaching kasi ngayon lang tayo nag-a-adapt diyan,” she comments. “Pero nakakatuwa ang experience ko sa pagtuturo. Sobrang active and energetic kasi ng mga bata!” (Online teaching is definitely hard since we’re all just adapting to it. But I’m really enjoying the teaching experience so far. The kids are so active and energetic!)
Assigned to handle Baby Ballet and Level 1B classes, Pia finds it very rewarding when the students themselves volunteer to demonstrate the moves and when they apply her corrections. “Eager silang matuto so na-e-enjoy ko talaga. Natutuwa din ako sa mga simpleng tanong nila tulad ng, ‘Teacher, do you like to see my costume?’ Siguro ang mahirap lang talaga para sa akin ay ang paggawa ng examination. Bago lang kasi ‘yan sa akin; bago lang din naman kasi akong nagtuturo.” (They’re eager to learn, so I really enjoy teaching them. I’m also amused by their simple questions like, ‘Teacher, do you like to see my costume?’ Perhaps the only thing hard about teaching for me is creating the examination. And that’s because it’s so new to me; because I’m also just new at teaching.)
Asked how things are like at home with her twin sister and fellow ballerina Pearl Dames, Pia shares that their bond is stronger than ever. This is especially true since they got into the same hobbies outside of dance during the pandemic lockdowns. Both have been cooking and baking more and have gotten into the “plantita” craze – an interest which they’ve managed to maintain until today. “In a way, nakaka-motivate na rin ang pag-aalaga ng plants. Nagigising ako nang maaga para i-water at i-trim. Gusto ko talaga sila alagaan.” (In a way, I’m also motivated by the plants I care for. I’m forced to wake up early to water and trim them. I really like to take care of them.)
Partnered by fellow principal dancer Romeo Peralta, Pia danced as Princess Aurora in Lisa Macuja-Elizalde’s Sleeping Beauty in January 2020. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag
Recently, the Dames twins also welcomed a pair of pet rabbits into their space, which do more than hop and breathe. “Parang nag-pi-pirouette rin sila,” enthusiastically claims Pia. “Nakakatuwa sila. Actually, lagi nga ako nasa room ni Pearl ngayon dahil sa rabbits!” (They also seem to do pirouettes. They’re lovely. I’m actually always in Pearl’s room these days because the rabbits are there.)
And then, there’s the small business the sisters started called Elevé Movement with Pia’s boyfriend, Robert Osorio, a sports scientist who has been helping dancers recover from and prevent injuries. “Nag-decide kaming magbenta ng slant board at balance beam para matulungan din ang ibang dancers, lalong-lalo na ang mga katulad ko dati na lagi na lang injured.” (We decided to sell slant boards and balance beams so we can help out other dancers, especially those who are prone to injury like me.)
The principal dancer explains that these tools, along with the exercise library that’s included with the purchase, help strengthen a dancer’s knees and feet. “Para sa akin, ang pandemic ay ang best time na palakasin ang ating mga katawan as dancers. Para pagdating ng time na open na ang lahat, ready nang sumayaw.” (For me, the pandemic is the best time to strengthen our bodies as dancers so when the time comes that everything opens, we’re ready to dance.)
Pia says taking care of pet rabbits (Bugsy is with her in the photo) and tending plants have helped keep her sane in the past year and a half. Photo from Pia Dames’ Instagram page
“Ang pinaka-frustrating sa pandemic na ito ay wala kang magawa kung hindi maghintay na bumaba ang cases,” stresses Pia. (What really frustrates me about the pandemic is you can’t do anything but wait for the cases to go down.) Instead of wallowing in self-pity, however, she chooses to keep working on her body and dancing to become a better ballerina.
Pia promises, “As dancers, sobrang naipon na ang craving namin na sumayaw. Halos two years na ito! At kung mag-start na ulit maging normal, ibubuhos namin ang lahat na naipong craving sa aming performance.” (As dancers, our craving to dance just keeps piling up. And it has been almost two years since we’ve been able to release this! When things start getting back to normal, for sure, we’ll pour all that desire into our performance.)
A Kitri kind of day: Pia pushes herself to perform a daily variation in her living room despite the limited space. Video from Pia Dames’ Instagram page
