Teenage ballerina Ainslea Esplana moves to the Philippines to pursue her childhood dream
Apprentice Ainslea Esplana radiates joy on stage as she dances to Magandang Gabi sa Inyong Lahat as part of the OPM suite in Ballet Manila’s The Silver Gala in Baguio City last October.
By Jv Ramos
Photos by Giselle P. Kasilag
Ainslea Esplana, a Ballet Manila apprentice, had always been exposed to dance. From the age of three, she was dancing ballet, jazz, hip-hop and modern styles while growing up in Australia, but decided to focus on ballet before turning 10.
Ballet Manila apprentice Ainslea Esplana says that at age nine, she already knew she wanted ballet to be her career.
“I chose it because it was hard and because I was challenged by it, and I guess it also helped that ballet made you wear the tutus and the tiaras, which I really liked as a kid,” says the shy sixteener.
To advance her dance genre of choice, Ainslea trained with the Projection Dance School in her hometown for about five years, and throughout her exposure to ballet, she has always taken it seriously.
“Since nine, I knew that I wanted ballet to be my career,” expresses Ainslea, and this resulted in her spending more time in dance school, opting to finish her education through homeschooling, and even taking classes during holidays.
Ainslea (rightmost) performs in the Naila Waltz of Lisa Macuja Elizalde’s Le Corsaire (2024).
“We came to know of Ballet Manila when my parents were looking for places in Manila where my brother and I could take classes. This is because we wanted to stay in shape while on holiday, because when we’d get back home, we would be part of a competition,” relates Ainslea. She recalls that she and her older brother Noah really found the Vaganova classes of Ballet Manila so helpful that after their Summer Intensive experience, Noah decided to continue his training in the Philippines back in 2018.
While she returned to Australia with her parents (her father Michael is Filipino and her mother Kerrie is Australian), Ainslea knew she would like to do more training with Ballet Manila in future visits to the Philippines. Little did she know that a few years after, the Vaganova way of training would follow her.
Ballet Manila’s comeback show Rise! (2022) was the first show of Ainslea (rightmost) with the company where she got to dance as a Traviata alongside principal dancers Shaira Comeros and Jasmine Pia Dames.
Around 2021, former BM rehearsal master Jonathan “Jay” Janolo had settled in Sydney with Australian wife Tiffany Chiang-Janolo, former BM soloist, and their son Benjamin. “During the entire pandemic, I took classes with Sir Jay and even trained with him for some competitions.” Under his tutelage, the teen ballerina performed well at such events as the Ballarat Dance Awards, Brindabella Dance Festival Canberra, Australian Classical Challenge, and the Asian Grand Prix.
“How I got here today had something to with Sir Jay calling Ma’am Lise [Ballet Manila artistic director Lisa Macuja Elizalde]. He asked her if I could come here and join some productions because what I needed was more stage experience,” recalls Ainslea. This was back in 2022, the year when Ballet Manila was emerging from the pandemic and began dancing again at the Aliw Theater as theater companies around the country were reopening.
Ainslea is thankful to have supportive parents. In August 2023, Michael and Kerrie Esplana flew to Manila from Australia to watch Ibong Adarna where Ainslea was part of the corps and brother Noah the Ermitanyo. Photo from Kerrie Esplana’s Facebook page
“Rise! was my first production here and originally, I was only supposed to stay for five to six weeks. But then I really liked the training and was having a lot of fun with the rest of the girls, so when Ma’am Lise offered an apprentice contract, I decided to stay too.
“Yes, my brother Noah influenced my decision to stay here in Manila and continue my training, but he didn’t play a part in my decision to pursue ballet as a career when I was younger. I may have been the one to convince him to do ballet, because I began my training earlier than him,” Ainslea smilingly points out.
Asked what it’s like to share the stage with Noah, who was promoted to company artist after the pandemic, Ainslea quips that it’s nice to make memories on stage together. “He also inspires me to work and do better all the time.”
Ainslea acknowledges that one of things she must work on is managing her stage fright. “There’s a different kind of nervousness you feel when you’re performing for company productions and when you’re performing in a competition. In competitions, you get so tired and anxious when you’re doing your preparations. While in shows, there’s that scary feeling that if you mess up, you’re going to let everyone down.”
To deal with both, she reminds herself to just focus on doing her best and to trust the process of Ballet Manila’s training. For instance, Ainslea is required to join the Level 3 afternoon class while rehearsing for season performances to make her a stronger dancer.
Working hard at her own pace is how Ainslea (second from left) approaches ballet. She is seen here as one of the Dryads in the dream sequence of Don Quixote (2023), with principal dancer Jasmine Pia Dames as Kitri/ Dulcinea.
Having already been part of company productions such as Don Quixote, Ibong Adarna and Le Corsaire, this apprentice hopes she gets to experience more despite the difficulty of corps de ballet work. Like in the previous competitions she’s been in, Ainslea understands that every moment on stage is a chance to grow and improve as a dancer.
“Why I keep going, even if it’s hard, is because in ballet, you can always do better. Like even when you’re performing well, there’s something that you can still do better the next time. This is what I really like about ballet!”
Asked for the best advice she can give to aspiring dancers, she answers: “One important thing I’ve learned in ballet is to keep working hard at your own pace. With so many dancers around you all the time, it’s easy to get pressured and want to do the roles that they do. But that’s not the way ballet works! There are days when rehearsals are just so heavy, and you need more time to get used to things.”
The Ballet Manila apprentice continues, “I’m lucky to have such supportive parents, because when I go through those hard times, they remind me to not give up and that if I were to keep working on it, things get easier the next time.”
Ainslea understands that every moment on stage is a chance to grow and improve as a dancer.
