Kitri is a signature role that prima ballerina and Ballet Manila artistic director Lisa Macuja-Elizalde has always referred to her “stage alter ego.” By the time she bid farewell to Kitri as part of her Swan Song Series in 2012, she had performed the full-length Don Quixote and its spitfire of a heroine a head-spinning 56 times.

When I first danced the role of Kitri in Russia, not only did I wake up with swollen legs from all the mandatory jumping and turning, I also had sore cheeks from all the smiling and laughing that came with such a euphoric ballet as Don Quixote. Kitri is a girl who epitomizes the French phrase “joie de vivre.” She is in love with life and with Basilio, a poor barber. While Don Quixote is probably the happiest ballet you can find in the classical repertoire, it is also one of the most difficult technical showcases that you can perform in as a ballerina. Kitri is a Wonder Woman with castanets. There is no other way to dance this role. You need to be on fire with superhuman stamina, solid techniques, and unfaltering energy from beginning to end.

Top photo: Lisa Macuja-Elizalde dances her final Kitri in Don Quixote as part of her Swan Song Series in 2012. Photo by Jojo Mamangun