After many detours, Portuguese ballerina Margarida Colaco finds a place in Ballet Manila
In Lisa Macuja Elizalde’s Le Corsaire last February, Margarida (left, with company artist Marinette Franco in the Naila Waltz) was able to fulfill her dream to dance classical ballet with a professional company.
By Jv Ramos
Photos by Giselle P. Kasilag
Among the new faces in Ballet Manila is apprentice Margarida Colaço from Portugal who went through many paths to be able to dance on pointe and be affiliated with a professional ballet company. “Ballet for me started as an extra activity in school. I was five when I got exposed to it. It was all for fun at first, but because it challenged me, I got drawn to do it more and soon, I was interested in pursuing it.”
At the age of 8 or 9, it was suggested that she try out for Portugal’s national conservatory for dance, which she did. But because her earlier dance classes weren’t strong on technique, she felt she wasn’t adequately prepared and did not make the cut. “As a young girl, I was really sad about it, but that didn’t stop me from doing ballet. I switched schools to grow more in ballet, took summer intensive classes and even joined competitions in festivals to gain some stage experience.”
Ballet Manila apprentice Margarida Colaço says being with the company makes her feel part of a team that she can also contribute to.
At 13, Margarida decided to give the national conservatory another shot, but failed to make it once more. The result just couldn’t be helped as she still didn’t have the proper training to be able to master dancing in pointe shoes. But again, this rejection didn’t stop her from learning more ballet. She went to Germany in 2019 for a two-week summer intensive, wherein she was awarded a scholarship for the following year.
“I was very excited to head back to Germany for that scholarship, because I worked even harder on my dancing in 2019, but returning there just didn’t happen. In February of 2020, Germany had already announced that they were going to close their borders to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and in March, Portugal was also placed under lockdown.”
Being her resilient self, Margarida didn’t let the pandemic stop her ballet progress. She did barre work at home despite having a small space and even explored online ballet offerings, which included the summer intensive of Ballet Manila. “I took it in the summer of 2020, so that was actually the first time I encountered Ma’am Lisa [Macuja Elizalde, co-artistic director] and even Sir Shaz [Barroso, co-artistic director],” shares our subject. “How I found out about it was through Teacher Angela [Chatal] whose daughter Eva Chatal had been part of the company before the lockdown.”
Margarida (third from left) gets to try contemporary dancing with Ballet Manila, as one of the Amazonas in Gerardo Francisco Jr.’s Ibong Adarna, staged anew in April.
Here, Margarida is quick to share that Teacher Angela changed her dancing completely. They met in the latter part of 2019 – back when she was looking for school options. “A friend convinced me to take their classical class and when I tried it, I found it hard, really hard. The combinations were a lot and even longer than what I was used to doing. But I liked the experience. I felt that the girls there wanted to really do ballet, that was in a place where I could learn a lot. Both the teachers and students knew a lot of things, so I was in a place where I could catch up. Believe me, I learned so much in Teacher’s Angela’s school in just two weeks, and she’s been such a good mentor to me ever since we met.”
Indeed, the mentoring seemed to help Margarida. After all, it was Teacher Angela’s training that got her into the national conservatory. “Yes, on my third try, I finally made it!” she excitedly relates.
Eventually, however, Margarida decided it would be better for her to leave the conservatory and resume her training with Teacher Angela, which entailed getting back to academics. “In Portugal, you have three years of high school wherein you choose a particular track. I chose Economics, which was a big thing for my parents, because they knew that I had some sort of a Plan B. Like if I was 18 and still had no contract for a dance company, I could always head to university and have a different career.”
On her last year of high school, she was sure more than ever that she’d like to be part of a dance company. She therefore started to get ready for ballet auditions all over Europe. “In my head, I wanted to perform in a company that does classical ballet and other genres. I found being on pointe shoes special. It’s more challenging to dance on those, so I knew I wanted to be part of a company that did classical ballet.”
Though experiencing an extremely hot summer here in the Philippines, Margarida says she’ll still choose the tropical heat over the cold weather of Europe.
After auditioning in Austria, Croatia’s national theater, France, Hungary, Germany and even the National Theater of Portugal, she got an apprentice contract in a small dance company in Germany with 12 professional dancers. “I took the offer because I didn’t want to accept that I have to go to university!” she jokingly says.
“As an apprentice there, I was basically an understudy, learning their repertoire from videos! There were a few times when they’d ask you to join rehearsals to learn the roles, but there really wasn’t enough room physically to dance. That made me feel demotivated. It also made me doubt my capability to dance classics since we weren’t really doing that.”
Although a big dreamer, Margarida – now 19 – also knew that making it to dancing a classical ballet is time-sensitive. “I knew that I could do contemporary when I’m older, but the time to dance the classics is really now, so I decided to prep myself for another audition season, and I even called Teacher Angela again to talk about my situation.”
It was at this time that Teacher Angela reached out to her daughter Eva, who in 2022, decided to return to the Philippines and continue her dance career with Ballet Manila that had been disrupted by the pandemic. “While thinking whether I should stay longer in Germany or head to Portugal to prep for the next auditions, I received a text from Eva, asking if could do a video call. I said yes to her and in that video call, Eva opened the idea of trying out for Ballet Manila in the Philippines.”
Having taken the company’s online summer intensive during the pandemic, Margarida was familiar with Ballet Manila’s adherence to the Vaganova method and welcomed the idea of moving from Portugal to the Philippines. “What convinced me even more was Eva mentioning that I could continue my strengthening work with Ballet Sport Science, which I had tried online, when I’m in Manila, so I went for it! Yes, I knew how far the Philippines is and how far I’d be from my family, but I somehow knew that this was something that would offer me more growth if I were to be accepted.”
Getting used to dancing multiple roles in a production, Margarida also performs as one of the seashore maidens in Le Corsaire.
After sending her audition video, Margarida was left with letting her family know that she might be moving far away to pursue her ballet training. “I had not gotten in yet and I really wasn’t sure if I would, but I wanted to let my family know already because we are very close.” To do this, she approached her aunt, who only saw her prospective one-year stay in the Philippines as an opportunity to grow. “She said that it’s only one year of my life and that my family would always be there anyway whatever I choose to decide… Knowing that ballet is what’s in my heart, my grandparents and entire family accepted my decision.”
It was in December 2023 that Margarida got offered a one-year apprentice contract in Ballet Manila. “It was in January that I bought my ticket, and all I can say is being an apprentice here in Ballet Manila is so different from my being an apprentice in Germany. Here, as an apprentice, I’m taking the same classes as the company dancers and dancing in the shows. In Germany, you’re more of a safety net. You’ll only be able to dance in a show if one of the dancers would get injured.”
She recalls her first time being in a Ballet Manila season performance. “The ballet was Le Corsaire, and the most memorable part of it was Ma’am Lisa’s speech to all of us before the show. That was the first time I felt that I was part of a bigger team and at the same time I felt that I had a part to contribute to it. It touched my heart to realize that I could grow here.”
Though far from home and family, Margarida is adjusting quite well to life in the Philippines. She says, “I still have a lot to work on, but I’m grateful to be here!”
Knowing that Ballet Manila is also interested in her progress, Margarida is determined more than ever to strengthen her technique in the Vaganova way and at the same time learn the contemporary pieces of the company. “What I appreciate here is I’m not just learning dances from videos and marking things in the studio. I’m learning pieces together with the other dancers and I really like the idea that we’re putting everything together. Things here are difficult, but in the end, this is what I wanted. I wanted to be in a place where I could be pushed more.”
Regarding adjusting to Manila life, this apprentice is nothing but grateful for the differences between Portugal and the Philippines, which bring about exciting new experiences. “Although it’s very hot, I’d take dancing in this weather over the cold months in Europe. Here, you have no problem with warming up your muscles. I’m also glad that people in the market aren’t in a rush. People here seem to take their time to help you and you are not rushed when you’re in a grocery, for example. I also love all the tropical fruits I’ve tried. I am in Cartimar whenever I have no work because I love your fruits,” she quips.
“Yes, I’m adjusting quite well here. I still have a lot to work on, but I’m grateful to be here! I really feel that I belong here.”
