Lisa Macuja-Elizalde celebrates 20 years of dance

Twenty years may be a long time considering that you count generations by it. Parents often feel relieved when, after 20 years, a child will have completed his education. Just one more year, at 21, a couple may finally marry without their parents’ consent.

But for Lisa Macuja-Elizalde, who is celebrating this year her 20th year as a Philippine-based ballerina, 20 years is still a short time. In fact, she declares, "The best is yet to come."

"I am actually in my 22nd season as a ballerina, if you count the two years I spent as the only foreign artist in the Kirov Ballet after graduating from the Academy of Russian Ballet. If you count the two seasons I danced with Dance Theater Philippines before leaving for Russia, then that makes this my 24th performance season," she says in her director’s notes. "But then again, who’s counting?"

To celebrate this milestone in her career, Ballet Manila staged over two weekends "Halo-Halo: Lisa@20," a concert that saw Macuja-Elizalde dancing her major roles in a dance extravaganza. Spread over three shows, the BM artistic director danced entire scenes and excerpts from Don Quixote, Romeo and Juliet, Swan Lake, La Bayadere, Giselle, Le Corsaire, The Nutcracker, and Harlequinade. The show also saw the premier of two new ballets: Ernest Mandap’s El Sol, and Vladimir Angelov’s Figuera.

What was special about the production was that Macuja-Elizalde was partnered by BM’s young danseurs, namely Jerome Espejo, Rudy de Dios, Francis Cascano, Nino Guevarra, Gerardo Francisco, and Nazer Salgado.

"I must admit to feeling a bit vulnerable… After all, some of these fine young men were just toddlers, or worse, not even born, when I first arrived from Saint Petersburg 20 years ago," she declares.

She had nothing to fear with these young danseurs. All trained under the Vaganova method, which the dance company follows, they proved their mettle, matching the ballerina’s passion and drive for her dance roles. With Osias Barroso, BM artistic associate and ballet master, providing steady guidance to BM’s young danseurs, it wasn’t surprising that they all acquit themselves. Barroso was Macuja-Elizalde’s longtime dance partner until his retirement from the stage a few years back.

The second program opened with Act II of Giselle, and also featured the pas de deux from Harlequinade, and the grand pas de deux from Don Quixote. During Macuja-Elizalde’s birthday concert for Star City park goers last Oct. 1, we were able to view the Balcony Scene from Romeo and Juliet.

Macuja-Elizalde’s Giselle remains a vulnerable creation: unworldly as a wilis, yet still with a spark of humanness. Her wilis suffered with Albrecht when he was being forced by Myrtha, the queen of the wilis, to dance to his death. You root for her Giselle as she danced with Albrecht to keep his energy up until daybreak. With Rudy de Dios matching her dramatic drive, theirs was a perfect match.

De Dios in the Act II of Giselle was a confident danseur who could act, which is a plus since this ballet is one of the more emotional dance dramas in the repertoire. In his face, you saw Albrecht’s grief at Giselle’s death, his longing to be reunited with her, and in the encounter with the wilis, the fear for his life. In his exchanges with Macuja-Elizalde, he showed firm partnership, his strong physical dancing a contrast to her ethereal, otherworldly perfection.

De Dios made another appearance in the Balcony Scene from Romeo and Juliet. This time around, the ardor of youthful love inspired his partnership with Macuja-Elizalde. Since Romeo and Juliet were just teenagers in Shakespeare’s drama, there is nothing sordid about their relationship. In this Romeo’s arms, Juliet soared in the air like a feather, an image that confirms the purity of their emotions.

Macuja-Elizalde might no longer be a teener, but her Juliet was informed with virtue and supreme bliss at finding true love. And her young partner was just as ardent.

Macuja-Elizalde was partnered by Gerardo Francisco in the pas de deux from Harlequinade, which was one of the dance pieces she performed for her graduation recital in Russia. This number was short, sweet and splendid. This dance should be performed more often.

The ballerina was the perfect soubrette, her steps light yet confident, her leaps and twirls dazzling. And her smile was constant, never betraying the demands of this number.

With a steady smile on his face, Francisco proceeded to leap and fly in the air, unmindful of the demands of the role, acquitting himself well. It’s a pity this one went quickly, because it was pleasing to the eye and a charming diversion.

In the Don Quixote excerpts, Niño Guevarra had the honor of being Macuja-Elizalde’s partner. Kitri being her most favorite role, it wasn’t surprising that she program two excerpts from this ballet: the Act I and the grand pas de deux in the finale.

Interestingly, the performance of the grand pas de deux meshes with an audio-visual presentation that provided a capsule of Macuja-Elizalde’s 20-year career. With Kitri, her favorite role, she conquered the stages in Russia in Manila. In four video excerpts, you see her dancing with leading Russian danseurs Bakhitjan Smagulov and Farouk Ruzimatov, and Filipino danseurs Nonoy Froilan and Osias Barroso. The music continued as the video ended, the lights went up, and there on stage were Macuja-Elizalde and Guevarra, dressed in the same attire as in the video. From there, they proceeded with the fiendishly difficult demands of the grand pas de deux, culminating in the devilishly beautiful fouettés of the ballerina. Just how many whipping twirls she did I never could count; whatever she danced, she always left you amazed.

Guevarra matched Macuja-Elizalde in his solos, and proved to be an athletic dancer capable of demanding role of Basilio.

Laurels for this successful program should go to Lisa Macuja-Elizalde, who, for two weekends, provided ballet enthusiasts with an opportunity to view a lifetime of her best dances in just a couple of shows.

While it wasn’t surprising that the audience focuses its attention on Macuja-Elizalde’s part of the program, dance enthusiasts surely enjoyed BM’s latest commissions.

Ernest Mandap’s El Sol breathes the fire and intensity of the Mediterranean. It has a Spanish flavor, and has an earthy theme: man and woman attracting each other in a complex mating ritual. It might not be to everyone’s taste, but the choreography presented Ballet Manila’s young dancers an opportunity to do something contemporary.

Opening with an almost ritualized game of men and woman choosing their partners, the dance moved on to an almost violent segment where male and female dancers test their physical limits. As the music became fever-pitched, the movements turned frenetic, complete with cartwheels. As the eight couples find their partners and discover each other, the dance broke into a cartoonish vignette of three pairs of dancers magically attaching themselves to their partners through the simple act of sucking the air between them. This section was silent, only the sound of sucking air providing a quiet counterpoint to the humorous action. From here, the dance continued with its impish gestures of dancers coupling as the light faded.

On the other hand, Vladimir Angelov’s Figuera is a neo-classical composition that is a masterpiece of brevity. In just 20 minutes, an entire fairy-tale program finds full balletic expression.

With the music of a Villa-Lobos string quartet in the background, the dance follows how a strange woman manages to steal away a prince from his princess. When the prince reneges on his promise to marry the princess in favor of the outsider, the wise man, the prince’s confidant, offers his succor to the spurned princess. In the end, prince and strange woman, and princess and wise man marry and all find a happy ending.

The success of Figuera rests on the seamless symmetry Angelov blessed this dance piece with. The cast led by Marian Faustino, Mylene Aggabao, Gerardo Francisco, and Alvin Santos were perfectly matched to their roles. In Angelov’s symmetrical conception for this dance, it was important that the danseurs in the role of the prince and wise man resemble each other physically. Francisco and Santos are not only of the same height and build, but they also resemble each other in a way. Thus, when they execute the same movements in almost clockwork and mirror precision, you see a perfect balance on stage that is almost magical. And they perform all those mirror movements beautifully.

This mirror effect also applied to the corps, where groups of dancers repeat the same gestures and movements at opposite sides of the stage.

As the strange woman, Faustino was complete and exact, while Aggabao as the princess offered emotionally charged dancing.

We did see Figuera with another cast, led by Ea Torrado, Gabriella Galvez, Rudy de Dios and Lemuel Capa, but the mirror effect was not so pronounced since de Dios and Capa do not resemble each other. But their performances were just as accomplished as the other cast, only proving that BM’s roster of dancers could dance just about anything.