A prima ballerina’s recommended ballet books and recent reads
Ballet Manila artistic director Lisa Macuja-Elizalde has been a bookworm since she was a child. It’s a passion she carried over into her teens and well into her adulthood, influencing her children Missy and Manuel to become voracious readers themselves.
As a ballet student in Russia, Lisa spent her spare time writing letters to her parents back home and reading books she could lay her hands on. She recalled weathering many winter evenings under the comfort of thick blankets with a book cradled in her arms.
On a break from rehearsals for Swan Lake, Ballet Manila artistic director Lisa Macuja-Elizalde is seen in this file photo indulging in her favorite pastime. Photo by Jimmy Villanueva
Back in the Philippines, during breaks in rehearsals or while waiting for a show she is dancing in to start, she would often be seen wearing her reading glasses and absorbing the pages of the latest bestseller or of titles tackling themes that interest her.
Books and ballet have often intertwined in Lisa’s career. Literary characters inspired two of Lisa’s greatest roles in ballet: Juliet from Shakespeare’s enduring romantic tragedy Romeo and Juliet and Kitri from Miguel de Cervantes’ epic novel Don Quixote.
Chancing upon Anvil Publishing’s Lola Basyang series at a school fair led to three of Severino Reyes’ tales being adapted into ballet form. Ballet Manila’s Tatlong Kuwento ni Lola Basyang became a blockbuster production that even merited a sequel.
As a choreographer, Lisa based her Princess Trilogy of Cinderella, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty on well-loved fairy tales she first read as a child.
Ironically, Lisa admits she doesn’t particularly enjoy reading ballet or dance books. She has a copy of American dancer-choreographer James Whiteside’s autobiography that has been on her bedside table for some time and is on her “to be read” pile.
But as far as ballet books go, she highly recommends two that she read a while back. These are:
These are two ballet book titles that Lisa Macuja-Elizalde highly recommends.
Apollo’s Angels: A History of Ballet by Jennifer Homans – “For an insight into the history and origins of ballet and how the art has evolved!”
Nureyev The Life by Julie Kavanagh – “(Rudolf) Nureyev has always intrigued me ever since my 13-year-old self had a huge crush on him after watching him perform in the CCP with Dame Margot Fonteyn.”
Lisa also likes taking in the occasional audio book, as she can listen to these even as she’s engaged in other activities, say while stretching her limbs or preparing to teach a ballet class.
“I just finished the audiobook of Matthew Perry called Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing. This gave me insight into the mind of an addict. Plus the world of filming. It was a very quick listen.”
Lisa is currently reading The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams and The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides. The former is a debut novel about the unlikely friendship that develops between an aging widower and a lonely teenage girl who bond over books. The latter is a psychological thriller.