In Their Own Words: Rodney Catubay on why passion is essential
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.
Hindi madali. Hindi talaga madali. Una mong hahanapin pag na-try mo ang ballet is, sa tingin mo ba sa sarili mo, magiging passion ko ba ito? Kasi ‘yun talaga ‘yung pinaka-importante. Hindi ka puwedeng sumayaw nang walang passion kasi magiging robot ka lang. Susundin mo lang ‘yung step pero walang emotion. So kailangang malaman mo na magiging passion mo siya hangga’t maaga pa. Pag nalaman mo na magiging passion mo siya, be ready kasi umpisa pa lang ‘yan. Marami ka pang dadaanan na paghihirap. Sometimes you’ll fall down. You have to stand up.
It's not easy. It’s really not easy. The first thing you need to find out when you try ballet is, do I think this will become my passion? Because that’s really the most important. You cannot dance without passion because you’ll just become a robot. You will follow the steps but there’s no emotion. So you need to find out if this will be your passion as early as possible. And when you find out that it is going to be your passion, you need to be ready because that is just the beginning. You will experience many challenges. Sometimes you’ll fall down. You have to stand up.
Top photo courtesy of Joshua Enciso
Rodney Catubay (center) performs in Rise!, Ballet Manila’s comeback show last October.
