Russian ballet stars call Philippines ‘Paradise on Earth;’ decline to comment on ongoing war

MANILA, Philippines — “Paradise on Earth” – this is how Russian couple Renata Shakirova and Aleksei Timofeyev described the Philippines, coming here for the first time as guest performers for local ballet company Ballet Manila’s 2024 staging of the classic “Giselle.”

At a press conference early this week for “Giselle,” the Russian guests raved over the Philippines.

According to the couple, they have always heard about the country from a Filipino ballet dancer friend, and now that they have come to the country for the first time, they agree with their friend that the country is just as their friend described, a “paradise on Earth.”

“Giselle,” "a tragedy... sad but beautiful story" of a peasant girl who fell in love with a nobleman, is the third offering for Ballet Manila's 26th Performance Season, said Lisa Macuja-Elizalde, Philippine prima ballerina, the first foreign soloist to join the Kirov Ballet and Ballet Manila’s Artistic Director.

The Mariinsky Ballet artists are in town to headline Ballet Manila’s “Giselle” in Aliw Theater on August 31 at 8 p.m. and on September 1 at 5 p.m.

“’Giselle’ has been a staple in Ballet Manila, but now, what makes this year different from previous seasons, aside from the fact that we have two guest artists, is the fact that it is onstage with the new Aliw Theater, with our LED (light-emitting diode) projections, with all those effects, may upgrading na kahit papaano…” Macuja-Elizalde explained.

Lisa said she learned about the couple through a recommendation from her ballet teacher in Russia. She invited the pair so that her company’s relatively new dancers (she lost many dancers during the pandemic) would be able to experience dancing with guest artists, who are also new to the country.

“Of course, it is so hard to say ‘no’ to Lisa because she is full of energy and life…” Alexei enthused.

“What is very special with Ballet Manila’s ‘Giselle’ is that I’m dancing it for the first time with my husband,” shared Renata, “and that kind of artistry and performance with somebody you are very close to will just make the performance very special. And I’m very excited to know the artists of Ballet Manila."

“It didn’t really need a lot of convincing or a lot of time to think about it. When the possibility came to perform in Manila, Philippines, there was really no question about it. We would accept because we were very excited to be able to perform in Manila. And we heard so much about the country. And so now, coming to the Philippines is just very exciting and we are looking forward to it.”

Their first performance as a couple was “Don Quixote,” and since then, they have performed in other shows together such as “Anyuta.” 

The pair admitted that sometimes, it is also hard to work together as husband-and-wife, as they sometimes fight during rehearsals. But overall, it is now a “fun and pleasurable” experience for them, “especially in the acting and artistic exchange as a couple.”

“'Giselle’ is one of my favorite ballets,” said Aleksei. “And dancing ‘Giselle’ with my wife Renata, it is even more interesting for me to find out what’s going to happen… We are getting a good kind of jitters because we are performing in front of an audience we don’t know.”

“We don’t know the Philippine audience at all,” confessed Aleksei. “It is going to be the first time for the both of us. So we don’t really know what to expect from the Philippine audience, but what we want to do is to invite them to come and see our performance of ‘Giselle’.”

When Philstar.com asked how as artists were they affected by the war between Russia and Ukraine, Macuja-Elizalde said, “Sorry, I promised no politics!” — Video by Deni Rose M. Afinidad-Bernardo; video editing by Martin Ramos