Lisa Macuja a risk-taker

As far as we are concerned, there are two most dangerous occupations in the world and that would be boxing and classical ballet. Immediately, if this were a contest for the first to give the correct answers, the winners would be Manny Pacquiao, ang Pambansang Kamao, and Lisa Macuja-Elizalde who gave classical Philippine Ballet a name.

Everyone knows that both boxers and dancers have limitations on their time as performers. Both should retire by age 30 and of course, we also know that they don’t follow those limitations. Lisa has given herself a staggered deadline, which is one number per concert. How long this will last, no one can tell.        

A true believer in the talent of the Filipino but also in our ability to embrace the classical arts like ballet, Lisa was born at Lourdes Hospital in Manila to parents Cesar Macuja and Susan Pacheco. She attended St. Theresa’s in Quezon City where she was a consistent honor student until high school. At age eight, she began taking ballet classes under Felicitas Layag-Radaic, and at age 11, she danced at the Meralco Theater in a ballet recital called Twinkle Toes in Tinsel Land.

She earned a scholarship to the Vaganova Choreographic Institute in Leningrad, Russia, and was principal dancer of the renowned Kirov Ballet. She returned to Manila in 1986 and in 1995, established her very own ballet company Ballet Manila, offering Nutkraker: Pasko Na Naman Muli, which opened last Nov. 29.

Attracted by her numerous accomplishments, we started watching her performances every chance we had. We were particularly drawn to the idea behind her establishing Ballet Manila. It was envisioned as a ballet company “by the dancers, of the dancers, and for the dancers.” At present, with a corps of 50 full-time dancers, the company has the capability of staging full-length classical ballets.

In addition, with its tie-up with Manila Broadcasting Company, it has produced the highly-successful concert series Ballet and Ballads, which combines the wide appeal of pop songs and the magic of classical dance. The series has been brought to provinces and all over the country. In 2012, Ballet Manila was awarded Best Dance Company at the 25th Aliw Awards, one of the most prestigious award-giving bodies in the country.

In 1984, on a television interview during the 245th graduation program of the Leningrad Choreographic School at St. Petersburg, Russia, Konstantin Sergeyev said, “Especially remarkable is Lisa Macuja, who is exceptionally gifted. She is like a spark, a spark full of life.” Lisa will have more Nutkraker shows tomorrow, Dec. 6 and Dec. 7 at Aliw Theater. For details, call 525-5967 or 400-0292.

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