Why Lisa Macuja-Elizalde is someone to look up to
They rose. They lifted others.
A world-class ballerina who brought Philippine ballet to the global stage and helped build a new generation of Filipino dancers through Ballet Manila.
There are Filipinos we admire because they reached extraordinary heights.
And then there are those who, after reaching those heights, turn around and help others climb.
Lisa Macuja-Elizalde is one of them.
She didn’t simply become one of the finest ballerinas the Philippines has ever produced.
She reached one of the highest pinnacles of classical ballet in the world - and then came home.
From The Philippines To The Kirov Ballet
As a young dancer, Lisa received a scholarship from the Soviet Ministry of Culture to study at the prestigious Vaganova Choreographic Institute in Leningrad, now St. Petersburg.
In 1984, she graduated at the top of her class.
She then achieved something historic: she became the first foreigner invited to join the legendary Kirov Ballet - now the Mariinsky Ballet - as a soloist.
She danced principal roles in classics such as The Nutcracker, Don Quixote, and Giselle on one of ballet’s most revered stages.
For many people, that alone would have been a magnificent life’s achievement.
But this is where Lisa’s story becomes especially meaningful to me.
She Came Home
Lisa returned to the Philippines in 1986.
She could have allowed her international success to define her legacy.
Instead, she chose to help build ballet in her own country.
She became the first artist-in-residence of the Cultural Center of the Philippines and eventually co-founded Ballet Manila in 1995.
But she wasn’t interested only in creating another company in which she could perform.
Training and developing the next generation became central to her work.
She taught.
She mentored.
She created opportunities.
And eventually, she did something that, for me, truly defines why she belongs in this series.
Project Ballet Futures
In 2008, Lisa created Project Ballet Futures for talented children whose families could not afford the considerable cost of classical ballet training.
Think about what that means.
Talent can be found anywhere.
Opportunity cannot.
A gifted child from a poor family might possess exactly the same potential as a child from a wealthy family - but ballet requires lessons, shoes, uniforms, transportation, nutrition and countless hours of training.
Without help, that talent may never have a chance.
Project Ballet Futures sought to change that.
Qualified underprivileged children have been provided with free ballet training and support that has included meals and nutrition, ballet uniforms and shoes, transportation assistance, and opportunities to perform.
Lisa wasn’t simply giving children a few ballet lessons.
She wanted to give them the possibility of becoming professional dancers and building careers from their talent.
She once explained her aspiration for these children:
“I want these children to know that they too can become professional ballet dancers and make ballet their career.”
That sentence tells me more about Lisa Macuja-Elizalde than a list of awards ever could.
The Multiplier Effect
The results of Lisa’s work did not end in the classroom.
Students she trained and mentored have gone on to professional careers in the Philippines and abroad.
One remarkable example is Christine Rocas, who began studying with Lisa as a young girl. Ballet Manila helped expose her to international competition, and she eventually earned international recognition and a professional contract with the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago.
Lisa has also supported and trained male dancers, helping some turn ballet into a livelihood - allowing them, in turn, to help support their own families.
This is what I call the multiplier effect of giving.
You don’t simply help one child.
You give that child a skill.
The skill becomes a profession.
The profession can support a family.
And someday, that dancer may teach another child.
One opportunity can travel through generations.
Why I Chose Lisa Macuja-Elizalde
I chose Lisa not simply because she became a world-class ballerina.
I chose her because she reached the world’s great stages - then came home and created a path for others to reach them too.
She could have made her legacy about herself.
Instead, she helped build institutions, trained young dancers, opened doors for children who otherwise might never have entered a ballet studio, and turned artistic excellence into opportunity for others.
Achievement tells us how far a person has gone.
Character tells us what that person does after getting there.
And perhaps one of the finest measures of a life is not simply how high we climb - but how many people we help climb after us.
That is why Lisa Macuja-Elizalde is #05 in my personal series, FILIPINOS TO LOOK UP TO.