Star Powerhouse

Ballet Manila's 20th anniversary show, "BM 2.0" is not just a celebration of classical and well-loved dance pieces. It is a recognition of hard work, passion and dedication armed by the vision to bring ballet appreciation to people from all walks of life. Principal dancer Lisa Macuja -Elizalde fondly remembers back in 1995, when the company had only 12 dancers. "We did not have our own studio. We had a makeshift rehearsal area in my parents’ house in Quezon City, but it was not big enough. Every time we had to rehearse as a group, we had to move from one studio to another. There were days when our dancers would warm-up six at a time, kasi hindi kasya, walang space. It had a mirror pero kalahati lang, we couldn't see our feet," Lisa happily shared. Nurturing a dance company from the ground, entailed challenges of all types. But the burning passion for performance excellence was so strong, it kept the dance company intact through the decades.