The Partner
For Shaz, a danseur’s primary aim has always been clear – to present one’s partner well. He may have his solo variations but if he hasn’t fulfilled that main goal, he feels he has not done the job right. Because of that belief, he rightfully earned the moniker as the “Ballerina’s Prince.”
Shaz has been paired with various ballerinas in his career, notably in shows with the Philippine Ballet Theater and Ballet Manila. He has said that the onstage spark between dance partners happens because of the trust resulting from long hours of rehearsing, as they get to know each other and work together as one.
His most enduring partnership is that which he shared with prima ballerina Lisa Macuja-Elizalde. For sixteen years, the two danced together on stages in the Philippines and abroad, even being dubbed as the Festival King and Queen for their participation in numerous international dance events.
With a combined stage presence often described as electrifying, Lisa and Shaz credited the success of their tandem to an intuitive mastery of each other. So familiar were they of their partner’s technique that they could pull off a splendid performance even with very little preparation. “There’s just something between us which we both cannot explain,” said Lisa of the chemistry they had with each other.
Eric V. Cruz, Ballet Manila’s first artistic director, attributed Shaz’s skillful partnering to the danseur’s attitude. “He will put the ballerina forward. He would make sacrifices for the ballerina to look beautiful, even if it is to his own detriment. He is intelligent enough to know he should not steal the thunder from the ballerina.”
It certainly helped that Shaz and Lisa were the best of friends, so attuned to each other that they were not only effective as partners but later also as co-artistic directors that steered Ballet Manila through struggles and triumphs. They had, as Lisa put it, developed into a perfectly synchronized team not just onstage as a pair of dancers but offstage as a pair of dance leaders.
Shaz was Colas to Ballet Manila pioneer Pamela Asprer’s Lise in the lighthearted ballet, La Fille Mal Gardee, in 2000.
Lisa and Shaz guested in ballet festivals in Russia many times, including a performance tour in November 1994 announced in this clipping.
Aileen Gallinera danced the title role in Jean Paul Comelin’s Firebird, with Shaz providing support as the Shaman in search of enlightenment.
During Ballet Manila’s first few years, Shaz and Lisa performed the Diane et Acteon pas de deux in the touring group’s shows across the country.
Shaz was Diego Silang to Melanie Motus’ Gabriela Silang in his own choreography, Gabriela ng Vigan
