13 years after their high school ‘Swan Lake,’ Pearl and Pia Dames are ready to be Odette and Odile once more

Soloist Noah Esplana playfully dons both of his costumes as Prince Siegfried for a photo-op with Pearl (left) as Odette and Pia as Odile after their performance at a recent corporate show. Photo courtesy of Jasmine Pia Dames

By Jv Ramos

Swan Lake holds a special place in the hearts of Ballet Manila principal dancers Jessica Pearl Dames and Jasmine Pia Dames. As twin sisters and dancers who both studied at the Philippine High School for the Arts, they had the experience of performing a version of this classical ballet when they were just 16. It was the ballet they danced as part of their graduation piece at PHSA which made it so memorable, says Pearl.

*Ballet Manila principal dancers Jessica Pearl Dames (left) and Jasmine Pia Dames never thought they’d get to revisit the roles of Odette and Odile, but they will in two shows of Ballet Manila’s* Swan Lake *in Dumaguete. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag*

A teacher had planted the idea for them to dance Swan Lake. Being twins, they could divide the dual role between them, with their respective strengths also figuring into which part each one would take on. “Dahil si Pearl ay very lyrical, siya ang White Swan na si Odette. At dahil bravura ako ever since, ako ang Black Swan na si Odile,” recalls Pia. (Pearl is lyrical so she became Odette, the White Swan. And because I’ve been bravura ever since, I became Odile, the Black Swan.)

And since they had never seen a Swan Lake performance as teenagers, they perused videos of the Royal Ballet on YouTube and put together their version of the ballet. “Tinulungan din kami nina [teachers] Nonoy Froilan, Edna Vida at Robert Medina, pero grabe! Hindi ako makapaniwala na nagawa namin iyon na teenagers pa lang kami,” Pearl laughs disbelievingly at the memory. (We were also helped by Nonoy Froilan, Edna Vida and Robert Medina, but gosh! I can’t believe that we were able to do that when we were just teenagers.)

***Pearl Dames says she’s been having a fun time exploring the fragility of her character, Odette. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag***

Anyway, that high-school Swan Lake proved to be so special that the twins have referred to each other as Odette and Odile in their online chats ever since. Little did they expect that the dual role would actually resurface later on in their lives.

“Noong time nga na iyon, akala ko na first and last time na namin masasayaw ang lead roles ng Swan Lake,” expresses Pia. “Maliit kasi kami ni Pearl at sa mundo ng ballet, ang mga gumaganap ng Odette at Odile ay matatangkad at mapapayat na ballerina, so nagulat talaga kami nang na-cast kami para sa Dumaguete shows.” (During that time, I actually thought that it would be our first and last time to share the lead in Swan Lake. Pearl and I are small, and in the world of ballet, Odette and Odile are portrayed by tall and thin ballerinas, so we were really shocked when we were cast as leads for the Dumaguete shows.)

The casting announcement, which came out last summer, was especially surprising for this bravura ballerina as she was still recovering from an injury then. “Nagulat ako sa trust ni Ma’am Lisa [Macuja-Elizalde, artistic director] sa akin, kaya ginawa kong goal na magpalakas para sa role ni Odile.” (I was surprised by Ma’am Lisa’s trust, so I made it my goal to recover and be stronger for my role as Odile.)

*Pia Dames is thrilled that her comeback performance is as Odile in* Swan Lake. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag

Together with soloist Noah Esplana – who himself didn’t expect to be cast as Prince Siegfried – the twins buckled down to work as soon as possible, and in Pia’s case, as soon as she could get back to the studio and rehearse. Pearl and Noah had the chance to assume their roles earlier as they were tasked to do the Odette and Siegfried pas de deux for a show at Shangri-La Plaza Mall and at the media launch for Ballet Manila’s Swan Lake at Aliw Theater last May.

“Nu’ng nag-express ako na gusto kong mag-rehearse na kahit na day-off, sobrang game ni Noah. Ginawa namin talaga ang mahabang pas de deux ng White Swan hanggang nakuha namin,” Pearl says. (When I expressed that I wanted to rehearse even it’s our day-off, Noah was so game to join me. We really worked on the long White Swan pas de deux until we got it.) It helped that they had already partnered before in a pas de deux from Martin Lawrance’s Romeo and Juliet in Baguio.

*For Ballet Manila’s* Swan Lake at Aliw Theater, Pearl dances with Joshua Enciso as part of the pas de trois in Act 1. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag

“Siguro, kung noon na wala pang masyadong experience si Noah sa partnering, maiinis ako dahil parang ayaw niya magtrabaho dati,” says Pia teasingly. “Pero ngayon, mature na siya, marami na kaming performances bilang Kitri at Basilio [in Don Quixote], so sobrang trusted ko na siya.” (I think I would be very annoyed if Noah and I did Swan Lake when he still had little experience in partnering and when it felt like he didn’t want to work hard. But now, Noah has matured. We’ve also done many performances as Kitri and Basilio, so I already trust him as my partner.) This principal even adds that if she were asked to pick her own partner, she would still go with him. “Kung galing ka kasi ng injury, ang partner mo ay dapat trusted mo na!” (If you’re coming from an injury, it’s best to be with someone whom you really trust.)

Asked how they’re getting into the two polar opposite characters, Odette and Odile, Pearl notes that since she’s really drawn to white ballets, she’s having a fun time exploring the fragility of her character. As for Pia, she knows that she’d be able to let out her seductive and evil side once she nails the technique that’s demanded from Black Swan performers. “It’s still a work in progress since I’m relearning how to do things, but I’ll get there,” she shares during the interview a few weeks ago. “Na-e-excite ako na ang comeback performance ko ay Odile! Challenging kasi siya at na-e-explore ko ang ibang klaseng character.” (I’m excited that my comeback performance is Odile. I like that it’s technically challenging and demands you to really explore a different kind of character.)

***Pia (leftmost) joins Tiffany Chiang-Janolo, Jessica Balote and Heewon Cho in the iconic Little Swans pas de quatre of* Swan Lake *in 2017. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag***

The Dames sisters have been preparing by subscribing to Ballet Sports Science programs to keep their bodies healthy. Pia has been doing special workouts that build her stamina, while Pearl has been strengthening her back to help her appear more swan-like. They underline, “Importante talaga na alagaan mo ang katawan mo sa mga performance na ganito, at pati na rin ang pag-alaga sa mind.” (It’s really important that you take care of your body for a performance like this, as well as your mind.)

The sisters share that they have their own ways of coping with their Swan Lake challenges. For Pearl, what relaxes her mind are long hours of sleep and the simple plotlines of local teleseryes she avidly follows. As for Pia, it’s the interviews of Philippine pole vaulter EJ Obiena which she says can motivate anyone who has been discouraged by an injury.

*Pia (second from left) and Pearl are welcomed by their artistic director Lisa Macuja Elizalde in the latter’s art-advocacy program* Art 2 Art. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag

Both principals have observed that every excerpt performance they have managed to do for an audience helps them develop their version of Odette and Odile. They’re excited to step onto that stage in Silliman University to show all that they’ve learned in the past 13 years – since they first became the White Swan and the Black Swan in that unforgettable Swan Lake in high school.

Watch Pearl and Pia’s guesting in Art 2 Art with Lisa Macuja Elizalde: here