A force prevents Lisa Macuja from saying goodbye

There seems to be something standing in the way of Lisa Macuja-Elizalde’s farewell Swan Song Series, the long-announced retirement package that would end this 2013.

Not one to let go easily of her love for classi- cal dancing, Lisa finally agreed to follow the ad- vice of her peers and started on the three-month series. But Super- typhoon Yolanda struck and again Lisa is left in a quandary.

“When On-doy happened in 2009, I was about to celebrate my 25th anniversary concert in a huge way! It was a concert called Lisa @ 25. But after Ondoy, I felt sad, empty and meaningless,” she recalls. “I had to postpone the performances of Lisa @ 25 and all my guest artists had to either not perform with me or rearrange their schedules to accommodate the change.”

More or less the same thing has happened with Yolanda, but armed with the experience of Ondoy, she decided not to cancel. “I pushed through with the Swan Song Series Year 3 performances of La Bayadere and The Nutcracker but gave a special purpose for the proceeds so that now I don’t feel sad and empty, dancing my last full-length ballets as it is for a good cause.”

While watching The Legends and The Classics at the Cultural Center of the Philippines sometime ago, featuring Cecile Licad, Lea Salonga and Lisa, we in the audience were astounded as Lea was saying her goodbyes and Lisa just couldn’t help from crying.

Lisa is such a prima ballerina with numerous awards few can equal. These have been gath- ered within 28 years of dancing the lead in more than 300 full-length ballets in 90 cities and five continents. If there is any Filipino artist who has circled the globe, it is Lisa. If there is anyone who feels most about leaving the stage, it will also be her. She has dedicated her life to the art, but much more than that, shared her knowledge by bringing ballet to the young boys and girls she is training for free in her company Ballet Manila.

We ask Lisa what her favorite roles are from the many she has per- formed. She points out Kitri in Don Quixote, Giselle in Giselle, Juliet from Romeo and Juliet, and Nikiya in La Bayadere. “Kitri is so very me,” she says, recalling the speedy multiple turns, the tech- nique to balance long high jumps, and the stamina needed to dance a really good Kitri. “But, as I grew

older and wiser through the years, I now want to dance again and again the interpretative, dramatic and sensitive roles of Juliet, Giselle or Nikiya as they call for maturity, drama and a combination

of acting and technique with telling a story. That’s the part of the performance I enjoy the most — the ability to tell a story without having to say a single word.”

We mention reading of Nonoy Froilan appear- ing in Ballet Philippines’ offering of the Charles Dickens classic tale of A Christmas Story. He is in his ’60s, hasn’t danced in years, but he will be dancing the lead role of Ebenezer Scrooge. To this, Lisa reacts clarifying, “The full-length clas- sical ballerina roles that I love to dance are the roles that I am retiring in the Swan Song Series. In other words, I am semi-retiring right now. I will be able to dance still in the future, but in carefully chosen roles and choreography.”

Lisa will be dancing The Nutcraker in the performances tonight at 7:30 and Dec. 1 at the Aliw Theater, CCP Complex in Pasay City. All proceeds from these shows and that of La Baya- dere will go to the Philippine National Red Cross and DZRH’s Operation Tulong for the victims of Yolanda. For details, call 891-9999 and 525-5967.

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