Ballet dancers are often referred to as performing athletes. They must have the strength and stamina to withstand the demands of their profession and yet also possess that grace and poise to make it seem like what they do on stage is easy. In this series, Ballet Manila’s ballerinas and danseurs share how they stay in tip-top shape, following a fitness, diet and wellness regimen suited to their specific needs. 

By Giselle P. Kasilag

Dancing at a professional level means having the strength to execute complicated movements and the stamina to do so with ease for a two-hour production. It requires discipline and hard work to ensure that the primary instrument – the body – is in its best shape.

Every dancer has their own regimen to stay in fighting form. For Ballet Manila company artist Eva Chatal, that begins with food. Her decision to be a vegan since she was 15 came from a genuine love for vegetables.

“I never really liked eating meat. I didn’t even know that I was being a vegetarian or a vegan,” says the Portuguese ballerina. “It just made me feel better, like with my digestion and my energy. I just felt that it was good for me.”

It was through social media that she learned about this movement and decided to completely cut meat from her diet. Her parents didn’t understand her decision but allowed her to pursue it for as long as she prepared her own food. As non-vegans, they had no idea what to feed her. Not one to back down from a challenge, she did her own grocery and learned how to design her own meal. Eventually, she influenced her parents, and her father became a vegetarian while her mom became a vegan.

“It excludes all animal products,” explains Eva when asked about the difference between being vegan versus being vegetarian. “No meat, no seafood, no eggs and milk.”

It helped a lot that the Portuguese government was supportive. Eva says there are laws requiring public dining spaces to offer vegan and vegetarian options.

Coming to Manila proved to be a challenge for her given the local food culture’s traditional approach to dining. Fortunately, the tropics produce a wide variety of fruits and vegetables that have come to dominate her grocery cart.

“I haven’t ventured to the local vegetables too much,” she admits. “I stick to the ones I know like lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, zucchini, broccoli, mushroom, bell peppers, carrots, beetroots… For the fruits, I think I’ve tried so many fruits here! I love the mangoes! Then when it’s in season, I love rambutan and lanzones. I like the bananas too! The small ones. I think I like all of the fruits except for the guyabano.”

Her main meal are “big salads” – a mix of various vegetables that are either raw or steamed that she livens up with her own recipes for dressings. It’s quick, simple, and suits her hectic rehearsal schedule.

Eva has also discovered many compatible products such as nut butters that add the flavor and texture reminiscent of non-vegan food.

“Sometimes I like recreating certain things when I miss something,” Eva shares. “Like a tuna sandwich. The base is actually cashews and there’s a lot of seasoning. And there’s this thing called nutritional yeast. It’s like yellow flakes or powder and it tastes like cheese.”

Food, however, is just one component of her fitness regimen. Ballet Manila’s daily dance classes have kept the ballerina slim and strong but she recognizes the need to work on specific parts of her body to improve her performance.

“I see what I need for the moment,” says Eva. “It depends on what I’m dancing and how I’m feeling. Now that I’m doing Dryads (for Ballet Manila’s production of Don Quixote in May), it’s quite a jumpy variation so I want to work on my jumps. I do extra exercises like squats and other leg-based work-outs.”

“Back when I was with BM2 [Ballet Manila’s junior company] and we were doing Muro-Ami, it needed a lot of upper body strength so I did more of that. I try to adapt to what I’m dancing. What I always keep is the stretching. That, for me is essential! If I don’t stretch, I feel like the flexibility is going down, the turn-out is harder; everything feels harder to do. But strength-wise, I adapt it to what I’m dancing,” she reiterates.

She takes particular care to strengthen her arms which are very flexible but can be disadvantageous for certain ballet positions. It makes partnering more difficult.

“For me, it’s not just the exercises that you do outside,” she adds. “It’s being aware in class of your weaknesses and having the courage [to recognize] that, okay, I’m not good at this. I’m gonna work at this! Especially after class, you just want to do your tricks and the things that you’re comfortable with. For me, turns are easier than jumps. I prefer to just practice turns. But if I’m honest with myself, I have to practice the jumps.”

Listening to the needs of her body and adapting her diet and fitness regimen are clearly paying off. She has been performing multiple characters in the company’s various productions with little difficulty. Indeed, a well-nourished body and a determined mindset are keeping Eva light on her toes and ready for her roles.