MANILA -- Lisa Macuja-Elizalde celebrates another milestone in a long and fruitful career that has seen her contribute to Philippine dance in various capacities – first, as the first and only Philippine-based prima ballerina, then as founder and artistic director of the country’s foremost classical ballet company, Ballet Manila, and shortly after, as directress of the company school which marks its 20th anniversary this year.

“The only other career I’ve ever considered outside of dancing was teaching, so being able to do both through our school had always been a source of joy and pleasure to me,” says the iconic ballerina, who continues to remain active on- and offstage at 52.

After founding Ballet Manila in 1995, she immediately set her sights on setting up a school whose curriculum followed the company’s preferred Vaganova training.

“It was imperative for our survival. We needed to provide BM with a steady source of well trained, polished, and disciplined young dancers who can continue the company’s legacy in performing the classics,” she explains.

Two years later, the company opened what is now known as The Lisa Macuja School of Ballet Manila, whose annual summer intensive workshops have since culminated with the full production recital series, "Just Dance."

“The idea behind 'Just Dance' is to provide a real stage experience for our students, to boost their confidence in performing in front of an audience. It also gives them a chance to share the stage with professional ballerinas and danseurs from the company – something that can be both exhilarating and inspiring for budding young artists,” she says.

According to Macuja-Elizalde, Ballet Manila is the only Philippine ballet organization with direct links to the Russian Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg, home of the Vaganova technique and her own alma mater. Intensive training and master classes have been conducted by esteemed pedagogues from the Academy over the years, making the current crop of local teachers well-equipped to pass on this highly demanding system of training.

And just as she intended, the school has produced majority of Ballet Manila’s artists, soloists, and principals, as well as dancers who now perform stellar roles in companies abroad. Among its most notable alumni are Christine Rocas of the Chicago-based Joffrey Ballet and Nazer Salgado of Singapore Dance Theatre.

She also notes that this year’s summer intensive workshop had attracted not only students from all over the archipelago, but also from India, Indonesia, Saipan, Canada, and the USA.

“We also had the pleasure of welcoming internationally renowned guest teacher, Victoria Vargas, who is a faculty at the Joffrey Ballet,” she adds. “This is truly a global development that we hope to see expanding in the years to come.”

Aside from its classical ballet program, summer courses offered at the Lisa Macuja School of Ballet Manila now include modern ballet, adult ballet, floor barre, street dance, and Bollywood. Regular ballet classes continue to be held throughout the year in its well-appointed studios in Pasay City and at its branch in Fisher Mall, Quezon City.

Meanwhile, the school’s anniversary production, "Just Dance XX," will go onstage at 3 p.m. on May 28 at the Aliw Theater, featuring a treasure trove of original choreographies by Macuja-Elizalde and co-director Osias Barroso, especially created to highlight the newly acquired skills of the student-performers.

“We have so much to be grateful for,” says the prima ballerina.

“Twenty years feels like a lifetime but there is still so much to look forward to. And after having produced six generations of classical ballerinas and danseurs, we still believe that the best is yet to come!”