Prima on Pointe

A cultural icon in the Philippines, Lisa Macuja is bringing Ballet Manila's "Greatest Hits" to Malaysia

- Elizabeth Soong

Lauded as the prima “ballerina of the people,” Lisa Macuja (also Elizalde) is a cultural icon in the Philippines who has achieved the incredible feat of bringing ballet to the people and people to the ballet. With a career spanning more than three decades, she has performed lead roles in over 300 full-length ballets, gracing stages in 90 cities across five continents.

She began studying ballet at the age of eight. In 1982, at age 18, she received a two-year scholarship from the USSR’s Ministry of Culture to study at the Leningrad Choreographic Institute (now the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet) in St Petersburg, Russia. She graduated in 1984 with top honours and was invited to join the world-famous Kirov Ballet (now Mariinsky Ballet) as a soloist, making her the first foreign principal ballerina to receive this honour. Her performances as a principal ballerina, including leading roles in The Nutcracker and Don Quixote, were among the highlights of her stay in Russia.

After two seasons with the Kirov Ballet, she returned to Manila and became the first artist-in-residence at the Cultural Center of the Philippines and a principal dancer at the Philippine Ballet Theatre. She also performed guest principal roles with foreign companies throughout the world, including in the US, Cuba, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, and Eastern Europe.