After five years, Nanami Hasegawa happily dances back to Ballet Manila
Nanami, who grew up dancing classical ballet, performs in Mikhail Fokine’s non-narrative Les Sylphides, which was part of Ballet Manila’s Deux (2019). Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag
By Jv Ramos
Nanami Hasegawa’s first run with Ballet Manila ended abruptly. Just a few days after the company performed its 24th season-ender with the double bill Carmina Burana and La Traviata, a nationwide lockdown was declared due to the COVID-19 pandemic, causing foreigners like the Japanese ballerina to hurriedly exit the country until the situation was managed.
Company artist Nanami Hasegawa is happy to be back with Ballet Manila. “I know that five years have gone by, but it doesn’t feel that way! I feel that I’ve been around all this time.” Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag
“I flew to Tokyo days before the borders here were shut. Actually, when I arrived in Japan, my contract wasn’t done yet, so I did take Zoom classes with the rest of Ballet Manila for weeks,” recalls Nanami. “At that time, I expected the lockdown to just give me a two-week break, but it took longer than expected, and it came to a point where I realized that I wouldn’t be returning to Manila any time soon.”
She continues, “I was sad about the whole situation, but I never really gave up hope. I love dancing, so I just kept wishing that companies would reopen again. And while hoping that they would, I knew I had to do my part and stay in shape. In my own small studio at home, I followed YouTube classes and continuously did barre work for five to six months.”
For The Pearl Gala (2025), Nanami had to substitute for injured principal dancer Pia Dames in Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Bloom, where she was partnered by company artist John Balagot. Photo by Erickson Dela Cruz
As Japan was able to manage the spread of the virus better, Nanami soon found herself taking open classes in studios around Tokyo. “I took those because at some point, I realized that dancing in my own room wasn’t enough training. And I’m glad I tried those classes, because it was through those that I got the opportunity to dance my dream role.” In 2022, a company invited Nanami to be a guest artist for their school recital, where she danced her first full-length Giselle featuring a principal dancer of Tokyo Ballet.
“I guess not everything that happened was bad during the lockdown,” comments the ballerina who then joined the Nihon Ballet Academy (NBA Ballet) in Saitama for a year and followed that with a two-year stay in France with another company. “I loved the repertoire of NBA Ballet and had an amazing experience there, but when the borders opened, I thought that it would be a great time to explore Europe through dance, so I auditioned and when the opportunity to dance in France came, I took it.”
Dancing as one of the fairies giving Princess Aurora good wishes in Lisa Macuja Elizalde’s Sleeping Beauty (2020). Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag
Since the company she transferred to focused on neoclassical works, Nanami – who grew up doing classical ballet – had to change her way of dancing. “It definitely took some adjusting, but it wasn’t as hard as my first time here in Ballet Manila.” In 2017, when she had first joined the company, Nanami found herself rushing to learn the choreography of Gerardo Francisco Jr.’s Ibong Adarna because she had to replace a dancer who was ill. “I had just two days to learn the dancing before Ibong Adarna premiered! My training here in the Philippines, where we had to pick up steps quickly, became very useful for me in France. During those times when they had to select a few girls to join a tour, I’d usually be part of it because I’m used to learning steps quickly.”
Her chapter in France wasn’t a walk in the park though. “In my first few months there, I was very homesick, which I hadn’t really experienced,” shares our subject, who is used to traveling and living independently. “I guess it’s just different there! People there take a while to open up to you. I’m not used to that, because I came from the Philippines where in just the first hour of meeting each other, you’re already lifelong friends.”
How this Japanese ballerina found her way back to Ballet Manila started with her asking artistic director Lisa Macuja-Elizade if she could take a few classes with the company back in November. “There was a problem with my work visa and I had nowhere to go, so I asked if I could join the company classes to help me stay in shape. And when I got here in December, I told Ma’am Lisa that if there’s any room for me to dance with the company again, I would gladly take it, and that’s when she offered me a contract,” narrates a very grateful Nanami.
In a pas de trois in Pearls, a new work by Lisa Macuja Elizalde and Martin Lawrance, Nanami (left) is grouped with Rafael Perez and Shamira Drapete. Photo by Erickson Dela Cruz
“And I’m very happy to be back with Ballet Manila!” exclaims the Japanese dancer. “I really missed the way people are here, and dancing in a big studio surrounded by trees. I know that five years have gone by, but it doesn’t feel that way! I feel that I’ve been around all this time.”
If there’s any change that she can identify, it’s being able to cross the chaotic streets of Manila with confidence. “Back then, I would always freak out whenever I had to cross streets here, but now, I just cross whenever I need to. I guess I have grown used to the life here.”
Asked how her days now are like with the company, Nanami admits that having to be one of the last ones to learn dances created in recent years adds to the pressure of having to pick up choreography fast. “But I knew I’d get there since everyone here has been so helpful. I also take the 6 o’clock school classes sometimes to brush up on my technique.”
Being in Rudy De Dios’ Carmina Burana (2020) was Nanami’s last performance with Ballet Manila before a national lockdown was declared because of the pandemic. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag
Nanami adds that her fellow dancers in Ballet Manila have also been supportive in helping her achieve work-life balance. “I recently did a painting session with Pearl and Pia [Dames, Ballet Manila’s twin principal dancers] in Sip and Gogh, and I was very happy and surprised with how it turned out. I think that spending time doing other things helps in keeping the stress away.”
A month before the curtains rose on The Pearl Gala, the company’s 30th anniversary season-opener, Nanami was thrown a curve ball when she was told she would be taking the place of an injured Pia Dames in Anabelle Lopez Ochoa’s contemporary piece, Bloom. “I was really surprised because I never thought I would be the one to replace her. Bloom was one of my favorite pieces ever since I danced with BM before the pandemic, and I was only hoping to get a chance to dance it in the future. So I am very grateful that BM trusted me and gave me this opportunity.”
Aside from Bloom, Nanami also danced in the two others works featured in The Pearl Gala – the classical divertissement Paquita and the new choreography Pearls by Lisa Macuja Elizalde and Martin Lawrance.
Eight years after first dancing in Swan Lake with Ballet Manila, Nanami (center) is excited to be part of the classic again this May. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag
For Nanami, the particular challenge was to see to it that she had the best conditioned pointe shoes for each ballet. “Each ballet required different qualities, so I had to prepare at least three pairs of pointe shoes for the performances plus a few pairs to spare. I almost forgot how fast the pointes shoes die due to the heat and humidity in the Philippines! So I had to constantly sew new pairs of pointe shoes.”
But while she describes it as a very challenging gala, she is just so thankful to be part of it. “Every rehearsal and performance was precious and valuable to me. I was always grateful to have a place to dance and never wanted to take it for granted.”
Returning to Aliw Theater was an overwhelming experience for her. “It brought back so many memories. I missed the view from the stage, our dressing room and the theater week! But it felt like I was finally back home, yet it didn’t feel like I was gone for five years!”
Nanami says her training in Ballet Manila, where she had to learn steps quite quickly, served her well when she danced with another company in Europe. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag
Even as The Pearl Gala has just wrapped up, Nanami is already excited about the next production in Ballet Manila’s season line-up, Swan Lake, which she got to dance with the company in 2017. “I am looking forward to experiencing the full-length classical repertoire again! I actually have done three different versions of Swan Lake during the five years I have been away from BM. None of them were easy, but the more I dance, the more I feel the beauty of this ballet, especially the corps in Act 2 and Act 4. I hope those experiences will help me get through one of the hardest yet the most beautiful of ballets,” she enthuses.
When the stress gets too much as it sometimes does, Nanami just reminds herself of the joy that dancing gives her. “I think about the way it made me feel as a little girl, and I would remind myself that this is the thing I enjoy doing the most.”
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Nanami Hasegawa: Braving Manila for ballet
