By Michele T. Logarta
At first glance, Nicole Klaudine “Neeka” Barroso is a typical 14-year-old. Chicken is her favorite food. In her Facebook page, she posted a meme that equated it with true love. Scroll further down the page and there are more posts about food like Oreo cookies and McDonald’s.
But other than food, there’s a lot about ballet here and her life as a trainee with Ballet Manila, the leading classical ballet company in the country founded by prima ballerina Lisa Macuja. That makes her not so typical after all.
She’s different from her peers in many ways. To begin with, she is not attending regular school but is enrolled in a home school program with her mother as her teacher. She also lives in the BM dorm, away from her family in Taguig, so that all she has to do is step out of her dorm and walk straight into the dance studios of BM where her dance classes are held daily from 6 p.m. till 9 p.m.
She is definitely talented and has won a silver medal from an international ballet competition. She is also the niece of Osias “Shaz” Barroso, one of the finest principal danseurs the Philippines has produced, and BM’s co-founder, co-artistic director and ballet master.
Neeka’s Facebook cover photo shows her decked in a tutu, taken after the ballet school recital last December where she danced the role of Gulnara, the slave girl from Le Corsaire.
It was her first time to do a pas de deux. “Nervous po sa una pero masaya. Medyo mahirap pero masaya kasi dream ko rin ‘yun. Nakita ko ‘yung mga senior sinasayaw ‘yun.” (I was nervous at first but it was enjoyable. It was also a bit hard. I was happy because it was my dream. I used to see it being done by the seniors.)
Neeka prepared for her first pas deux for almost two months. She says she gained a lot of practice for the recital role when she danced it in a Ballet and Ballads presentation in Cavite.
Ballet and Ballads is a highly successful concert series produced under Ballet Manila’s unique tie-up with Manila Broadcasting Company. It combines the wide appeal of pop songs with the magic of classical dance. This series has been brought to schools and key venues in the provinces and in Metro Manila, and presented as part of Ballet Manila’s performance season.
Neeka started with BM in 2007 when she was 5 years old. “Pina-attend po ako ng Baby Ballet classes every Saturday and Sunday. Simple class lang, moving from corner to corner, ikot-ikot,” she recalls. (I attended Baby Ballet classes every Saturday and Sunday. We did simple things like moving from corner to corner and turning. )
At the age of 6, she amazed relatives, including her uncle Shaz, in a family reunion when she performed a dance she had choreographed all by herself. She hardly remembers the dance now. “But the first thing I learned was that if you forget the steps, just adlib!”
Neeka became a BM trainee in 2015. BM trainees are primed to become part of BM 2, BM’s second company that acts as a reserve for the main company, BM 1. BM 2 members are dancers who can’t be part of the main company because they can’t be full-time dancers for reasons such as academics.
Ever since she became a trainee, Neeka says she is more focused. “May goal ka kasi na maging second company.” (I have a goal and that is to become part of BM 2). Things really got going for Neeka when she was given a chance to participate in the 2014-2015 season of BM. In December of 2014, she was told she would compete in the 2015 Asian Grand Prix in Hong Kong.
“Nagulat ako kasi kakapasok ko lang sa season, tapos AGP agad. Pina-try.” (I was very surprised because I had just started the season when they gave me the chance to join the AGP.)
She made BM proud in the 2015 AGP when she brought home the silver medal in her category, Junior B. Neeka was one of several BM dancers who took home awards from the competition.
“First time ko mag-AGP. Pagpunta namin doon, ang saya. Kasi may hotel. Ang suwerte- suwerte, may allowance ka pa from Ma’am Lisa… tapos ang gagawin mo lang mag– compete. Magawa ‘yung best mo du’n sa binibigay nila sa iyo.” (It was my first time to join the AGP. It was a happy time. We stayed at a hotel and we were so lucky because we were given an allowance by Ma’am Lisa. And all we had to do was compete and do our best in return for all that they gave us.)
For the AGP, Neeka prepared two pieces: the Lise variation from La Fille Mal Gardee and the Swan Lake pas de trois.
Neeka vascillated from feeling nervous to being calm. “Pag nasa wings ka po at hindi pa ikaw ‘yung susunod, you’re not nervous kasi busy ka stretching and turning.” (When you are in the wings and it’s not your turn yet, you don’t feel nervous because you are busy stretching and turning.)
Neeka recalls that they (the contestants) were told not to watch their competitors as it would make them more nervous. However, she still did and came out feeling more confident, fortunately. But it was the waiting upstairs till the end of the day when the results would be out that proved to be nerve-wracking, she says. Only then would the dancers know whether they were advancing to the next round.
Looking back to that experience, Neeka believes that her training with BM gave her the edge over the dancers in her category. “Galing ako sa BM, sa Vaganova system. Talagang tinututukan ka sa rehearsal bawat step… ‘yun at pati na ‘yung lakas ng loob.” (I come from Ballet Manila where we were taught the Vaganova method. Each step we do is scrutinized. That – and courage – gave me the edge.)
Being the niece of Shaz Barroso, she admits, puts more pressure on her. “Minsan po, naiisip ko din na kung hindi dahil sa kanya hindi ako nasayaw. Tito ko siya, kailangan kong ayusin ang sayaw ko. Ginagawa ko ang best ko. (Sometimes, I think, I wouldn’t be dancing if not for him. He is my uncle. I need do things well. I do my best.)
This year, Neeka is looking forward to her second AGP competition. She’s already been told that she will be among the BM contenders and will compete in the same category she joined last year for 13 to 14-year-old boys and girls.
She is excited about competing again. “Confident but at the same time kinakabahan kasi ang hirap. Pa’no kung finalist lang ako this time? May nagbago ba? (I am confident but at the same time scared. What if I don’t do as well as last year? Did something change?)
She will be performing the Lise variation she did last year in competition and is learning a new one, the Harlequinade variation.
Her uncle – whom she calls “Sir Shaz” like the rest of the Ballet Manila company – has told her to prepare well for this upcoming AGP. “Sa class, du’n mo makukuha ang technique mo. Sa rehearsal, dapat maintindihan ny’o ang story para may laman pag sinayaw mo.” (In class, you will acquire your technique. At rehearsal, you need to understand the story. So that your dancing will have substance.”)
And following her uncle’s advice, she is concentrating on ballet classes. Her favorite is pointe class. In pointe class, you have the chance to dance already, she explains. She started pointe at the age of nine.
“Dati umiiyak po ako kasi puro sugat ang daliri ko.” (I used to cry because my toes were all wounded.)
One day, Neeka dreams of dancing the roles of Kitri and the Black Swan. And, if there is any one thing she is absolutely certain of, it is that she wants to become a professional ballet dancer when she grows up.
“Eto na talaga!” she says. (This is it!)