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

When Ballet Manila principal artist Abigail “Abi” Oliveiro first arrived in the Philippines, she was absolutely not a vegetarian. While not a big pork-eater, the Australian dancer loved roast chicken breast and would eat beef as well. But navigating the unfamiliar meat section of a Manila supermarket proved to be too much for her that she gave up completely and turned to veggies instead.

“So, when I went to Shopwise, I didn’t know how to order chicken at the deli because there was like menudo cut, this cut, I didn’t understand anything,” shares Abi. “Back home, it was really easy to buy chicken breast. But here, there’s all these cuts and styles and parts and I’m like… Huh? I didn’t know! I was so overwhelmed!”

Abi ended up leaving the supermarket with just almonds and raisins. “I remember the first grocery trip because Violet (Hong, former company artist) literally said, ‘That’s all you’re gonna get? You better get something nutritious!’ And I said, ‘I don’t know what to get!’ So the whole chicken thing confused me. And then I was like, oh you know what? I just can’t be bothered! I can’t be bothered cooking chicken. I think vegetarian would be much easier to manage. I’ll just buy a carrot. Everybody knows what a carrot looks like!” she laughs, thoroughly aware of how ridiculous her explanation sounds.

That was her second day in the country. She told herself that she could just get packaged foods first, confident that she would eventually figure out how to buy meat that she could prepare in a manner that was familiar to her. She never did.

But her fear of the unfamiliar did not extend to vegetables. Though some items looked exactly like what she would get from an Aussie market, she did not shy away from tropical produce that she had never seen before.

“There’s no wrong way of seasoning it. There’s no salmonella. You just gotta check for worms once in a while but when it came to veggies and fruits, I think I’m game! Well, my favorite fruit is durian so how wrong can you go? I’m like top tier at the dangerous zone already! I love durian! I would eat durian till my nose bleeds,” she declares.

Labeling herself as a “vegetarian out of convenience,” she admits that dropping meat from her diet was not a difficult decision because she was not a big meat-eater anyway. Unlike most people, she shied away from the thigh part of the chicken. She never really enjoyed the texture, smell and taste of pork. It did not feel like she was giving up much.

But turning vegetarian was among the last steps in a list of healthy life choices that Abi had to make when she chose ballet as a professional career path. While her appetite had always been ample, she needed to learn how to feed herself properly and she credits her mother for instilling that discipline in her.

“My mum prepared meals for me because she didn’t trust me,” Abi laughingly confides. “She’s like, ‘You can’t eat everything all the time!’  but now I say I can! But back then it was the type of food so it wouldn’t be just potato chips and fried chicken. It would be more conscious decisions. I would have to eat a meal before I would have my snacks.”

She confesses to having a bad habit of snacking all the time. It would sometimes get to a point wherein she would snack so much that she would rather not eat a proper meal. The snacks themselves were not very nutritious so the food was not meeting her dietary needs to power her through ballet classes and rehearsals.

And then there was also her weakness for chocolates.

“I love my chocolates! Oh, my parents can back me up on this. The amount of chocolates that just go missing in the house, and the wrappers were like hints in my room. Oh, and the ice cream tubs wherein all of a sudden half the ice cream is gone and they were like, ‘That was expensive! Where did that go?’ Sorry! But yeah, I had to be more conscious with how I ate and what I ate then. And I had to go to the gym,” she says.

That consciousness with diet came at a time when she was experiencing her growth spurt. With her body changing very quickly along with not enough substantial information on nutrition, exacerbated by a perception of how a ballerina should look, led to many unhealthy choices and self-criticism.

“At that time, 17 or 18, you’re supposed to be getting a job. You’re supposed to be auditioning so you have to be in shape. And then on top of auditioning, you were competing. So both demanded, I guess, a certain kind of look. I was aware because of that. And in audition videos, you have to wear just a leotard. There’s no hiding anything. There’s no flattering your body. It was just you, pink tights and a leotard. You’re very bare! So I think that’s when you really become very aware of what you look like,” she explains.

It didn’t help that she was trying to achieve so many things all at once. She was attending university, working on a side hustle of tutoring kids, and pursuing ballet at the same time. She was physically and mentally exhausted.

It was her dad who picked up on her red flags and asked her if she was okay. It took a while but when she finally admitted that she was unhappy, she was able to take a step back and view her priorities objectively. It became clear that all she wanted was to dance. And with her parents’ support, she was able to craft a plan and pivot to pursue her dreams. That was when everything fell into place.

Abi understood how her body worked, and how her food preferences could help to strengthen her. Rather than cutting out food groups or engaging in cleanses and fad diets, she learned to control her portions, add healthier options to her meals, and keep her snacking at bay.

When she moved to Manila and turned into a vegetarian, she had more flexibility with her choices because it was not for medical purposes. She opted not to cut out seafood from her diet. It’s a good source of protein and the country of 7,107 islands had a variety of very fresh catch that she could choose from.

To keep her meals interesting, she constantly switches out her carbohydrates from rice to quinoa and noodles. Sauces and spices are her secret weapons, with Japanese curry as her favored ammo. Using those as flavor bases, she would add her vegetables and happily smother everything with cheese. But everything must be taken in moderation. 

Having her husband, fellow principal dancer Mark Sumaylo, in the same field helps to keep her in check. While Mark is not a vegetarian, they both need to be in top shape which means staying disciplined especially when they are on vacation.

“We eat relatively well but we also recognize that it’s time to rest and the way our body rests is to feed it as well. So you have to find a nice balance for that. I think that’s the way it goes for us with regards to eating and exercising. We both experienced situations where you either completely rest or overindulge and the ‘coming back’ is honestly ten times as hard. So ever since we discovered that, we always do an ‘active rest.’ We still always take class especially when we’re still in season. We do conditioning. But of course, it’s not gonna take the whole day. You’re able to pace yourself and stop when you need. But not a complete rest.”

It helps her more when she knows early on what choreographies she will be performing. Because different pieces have different demands on her body, she is better able to physically prepare by working on the parts that will require more strength.

“Things in the repertoire don’t always suit your body. For example, MAZN is a very fast dance. Don Quixote has a lot of jumps. I think knowing the repertoire ahead of time helps a lot because you can target it in the gym or the studio. However, what if you don’t know what’s coming up? That’s where you need a general maintenance, that you need to be in this kind of fitness and stamina in order to accept anything being thrown at you, because you really don’t know so it’s just best to be prepared for the unexpected.”

Ultimately, whether in eating or exercising, it was all about listening to her body. Abi has become deeply in tune with hers which has made it easier to navigate the complexities of a ballerina’s health requirements. She may not know her way around the meat section of the local supermarket, but she has carved a path to physical and mental health that is keeping her truly well and thriving.