By Jv Ramos

A different kind of enthusiasm is evident in Marinette Franco's face each time she talks about ballet. Having not danced on stage or used the studio daily in more than two years, she gives her all to every class and every performance these days, as if another lockdown were to come her way.

Marinette, in fact, admits that she's been thinking about her craft more than ever. "When I used to prepare for roles before, I'd no longer think about the role or my character after rehearsals. After all, I'd just do it again the next day. Now, I find a way to remember the corrections. Throughout the day, I remember that I have to fix my expression here, that I have to work on this and that."

While ballet is an activity Marinette has always been fond of, doing it every day led her to take it for granted. "But that all changed during the pandemic," the ballerina declares. She shares that being cooped up in a small living space with family members also doing work-from-home has made her appreciate studio time more. "When we were doing online classes, I had to be careful not to hit someone each time I'd stretch. I also didn't get to do a lot of center classes at home due to the limited space."

"The experience of doing online classes was okay for me, really, but after five weeks of doing it, anxiety got the best of me." Since the lockdown seemed to have no end, Marinette’s head was full of self-defeating questions: Why is it taking so long? May mapupuntahan pa ba ang hinihintay ko? At kung makakabalik tayo, will it still be the same? (Is all this going to lead to something? And if we were able to return, will dancing with Ballet Manila still be the same?) Or would things be so different that some of us wouldn't be able to come back?

Her doubts and despair became even more pronounced when her family moved back to the province. "That was the point when I felt that I really wouldn't be coming back," she recalls. "Ballet Manila just seemed so far away, since we moved away from it." How she got out of that dark period started with a phone call. In 2021, Ballet Manila launched Ballet Minis: Passages On Pointe, a 10-episode series that reimagined and translated the company's best choreographies into short dance films.

"They needed girls to be part of these videos. And when I found that I was going to be part of La Bayadere, I really panicked! The piece called for a white tutu, and I knew that I was out of shape!" The ballerina shares that the thrice-a-week classes were not enough to keep dancers performance-ready. Instead of being enveloped by panic though, the situation gave her hope. "Being in the video and then rehearsing for the Asian Grand Prix somehow was a sign that Ballet Manila was coming back. Gradually. But it was coming back. When I realized this, I really worked on getting back into shape."

For Marinette, getting back into shape also meant shifting her mindset. "To be able to come back, I had to look at things differently. I first had to stop thinking that ballet was going nowhere," she underlined. "I also told myself that if I wanted to continue, I should really do something about it. You can't just wait around for things to happen."

Determined to be a more proactive ballerina, she did extra workouts to lose weight, forced herself to go to the studio despite floods, and more importantly, embraced every correction and opportunity thrown her way. "Sabi ni Sir Geri [co-associate artistic director Gerardo Francisco Jr.] tumitiklop daw ako," Marinette shares as she remembers dancing again in front of a live audience. (Sir Geri said that I tended to lose steam on stage.) "I guess it's because I haven't been dancing in front of a live audience for so long." Instead of keeping her in the background, the older dancer encouraged Marinette to do more solo performances in Ballet Manila’s Dance Day Live! monthly series and front acts for the company’s shows in Star City starting this year.

"Doing front acts is scary, but I'm really thankful that Sir Geri pushed me to do these since I'm slowly gaining my confidence back." As of writing, this ballerina has performed variations from Swan Lake, La Bayadere, and Don Quixote, and is excited to learn more roles and share her craft. "One of the roles I'd really like to perform is the Lilac Fairy from Sleeping Beauty. I was learning this before but didn't get a chance to dance it due to all that happened in 2019. The fire at Aliw reduced our number of shows, so I wasn't able to be the fairy. I'm now excited to dance it in front of an audience."

This Ballet Manila artist adds, "It also helps to decide to be excited about what you're doing. Because if you're not excited, you'll just keep complaining. It helps to also have a goal in mind. When you have a goal, it gives meaning to all your efforts; you're happy at the end of the day even if you're tired."

Asked what roles she dreams of dancing, Marinette names the challenging dual role of Odette-Odile from Swan Lake for full-length, as it's the ballet that made her fall in love with the art form, and Giselle, even if it's just the pas de deux wherein the protagonist seems like she's floating. Because she is tall, the latter may not yet be possible now. "Yes, I know that there's no one yet in the company who can partner with me, but that won't stop me from preparing myself for the role. I want to continue working hard to be in shape, so when the right partner comes, I'm ready!"

Asked about her career plans, Marinette is determined to continue dancing instead of pursuing other possible opportunities. “Sasayaw muna ako," the ballerina says firmly. (I’m going to continue dancing ballet first.) "My plan is to concentrate on ballet, and should the time come that I should stop, I will go back to studying. Nowadays, with all the learning platforms you can do, I think it's already normal now to study at any age."

"I'm starving to dance so that's what I will do," concludes the company artist. "All the thinking during the pandemic has made me realize that I can do so much more. I'll continue to triple the work, double the workout to keep dancing ballet."