In their own words, the artists of Ballet Manila share their thoughts and experiences on not merely surviving but flourishing in the very challenging world of dance. This series is a collection of personal anecdotes, as well as words of wisdom that can be heartwarming, funny or dramatic, but always inspiring regardless of what field one is pursuing.

There was a time after (I got my) vaccine, hindi ko maangat ‘yung braso ko, but I had no choice. Nilalagnat ako! Sabi ko, walang papalit. I had no choice kung hindi magturo. So sabi ko, sige na lang, turo na lang tayo. Kahit si Teacher Sofie (Sangco-Peralta)… left(-handed) siya so sa kanan siya nagpaturok. Ako sa left. So kapag hindi niya ma-show sa right, ako ang nag-right kasi okay ang right ko. Sa left naman, hindi okay ang left ko so siya naman ang gagawa! May ganoong class kaming ginawa kasi nga kailangan naming gawin ‘yung class.

‘Yung industry ng arts, mas tinamaan talaga. Siguro nga, last tayong babalik. Our church is now online. Nakahanap sila ng way para makapag-online. So every Sunday or when I’m down, in the middle of the week, I watch the past services. Nanonood lang kapag medyo down ka pa; mas mag-kneel ka lang, mas mag-pray ka lang until okay ka na. If you don’t feel okay then you have to pray more. If you’re still not okay, you have to pray harder.

There was a time after I got my vaccine, I couldn’t raise my arm but I had no choice. I had fever! I knew no one was available to take my place. I had no choice but to teach. So I said let’s do it, let’s teach anyway. Even Teacher Sofie (Sangco-Peralta)… she’s left-handed so she had her injection on her right arm. I had mine on the left. So when she couldn’t demonstrate on her right, I do the right side because my right is okay. On the left, my left is not okay so she does the demonstration! We had a class that we handled that way because we needed to do the class.

The arts industry was really badly hit. Maybe we really are the last to be able to return. Our church now is online. They found a way to go online. So every Sunday, or when I’m down, in the middle of the week, I watch the past services. I just keep watching when I’m feeling down; I kneel more, I pray more until I’m okay. If you don’t feel okay then you have to pray more. If you’re still not okay, you have to pray harder.

Top photo by Sofia Sangco-Peralta