Ballerinas on ballet’s iconic female leads: Jasmine Pia Dames on Princess Aurora
Being given the title role of Lisa Macuja-Elizalde’s Sleeping Beauty in 2020 was a dream come true for Ballet Manila principal dancer Jasmine Pia Dames. Playing like she was a princess as a little girl is one of her special childhood memories. Dancing on stage as Princess Aurora in the world premiere of a new choreography – one that had her executing fouettés or whipping turns at the end – has become a treasured memory as well.
"Pang-bravura ang dancing style ko talaga or mga roles na attack, attack, attack! Hindi ganyan ang Sleeping Beauty. Very heavy on classical technique ito. Dito, kailangan perfect ang bawat position na gagawin mo." (My dancing style is naturally bravura and I'm more used to roles wherein I execute one movement after another. Sleeping Beauty isn't like that at all. It's heavy on classical technique. It demands that you execute every ballet position well.)
"Noong mga unang rehearsals, naglalakad pa lang ako nang papasok, pinapatigil na nina Ma'am Lise [BM artistic director Lisa Macuja-Elizalde] at Sir Shaz [BM co-artistic director Osias Barroso] ang music. Kailangan kasi nila i-correct ang paglakad ko dahil hindi ito katulad sa lakad ng classical Russian ballerina." (During our first rehearsals, Ma'am Lisa and Sir Shaz would stop the music as soon as I entered. It’s because they had to correct my walk, as it's not how a Russian classical ballerina would do it.)
"Mahirap din ang partnering sa Sleeping Beauty. Pero dahil si Romeo [Peralta, Ballet Manila principal dancer] ang partner ko, mas naging okay ang process. Dahil matagal na kaming nagpa-partner, alam na ni Romeo ang center ko at pati paano akong paikutin! Nakatulong din ang maturity niya as a danseur." (The partnering in Sleeping Beauty is also very difficult. But because Romeo is my partner, the process became smoother. Romeo and I are used to dancing together. He's familiar with my center and knows how to turn my body. His maturity as a danseur also helped.)
Marami na po akong napanood na Sleeping Beauty ballets, at wala kang makikitang fouettés doon. Lalong-lalo na siguro sa ending! Imagine n’yo na lang, pagod na pagod na si Aurora sa mga sinayaw nila, pero marami pa siyang fouettés na kailangang gawin sa ending. Pero na-enjoy ko po ang process. Totoo, mahirap itong sayawin, pero sobrang masaya ako na nakasayaw ako as Aurora. (I’ve seen many versions of the Sleeping Beauty ballet, and none of these involve fouettés. Especially towards the end of the ballet! Just imagine, Aurora is already exhausted from all the dancing in the previous scenes, but she still has to execute a lot of fouettés at the ending. But I really enjoyed the process. Indeed, this ballet is very difficult, but dancing Aurora gave me so much joy.)
Top photo: Used to tackling bravura roles, Ballet Manila principal dancer Jasmine Pia Dames was able to explore the more refined classical technique as Princess Aurora in Sleeping Beauty. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag
