Glushko spent an evening in the home of Lisa Macuja-Elizalde, the first Philippine ballerina.
Later they attended one of Ballet Manila’s performances.
The two spoke mainly in Russian. Macuja-Elizalde spent many years studying classical ballet at the top Russian ballet academies. In 1984, she became the first foreign soloist to join the Kirov Ballet.
The two legends of ballet met at Macuja-Elizalde’s sprawling home in Metro Manila where they were able to relax and discuss the many aspects of ballet, including the renewed popularity of the Russian Vaganova method.
Macuja-Elizalde and Glushko noted that during the Soviet Era, the Russians preserved their original classical ballet style and methods.
Glushko said today, almost every ballet school wants to learn from certified and trained Russian choreographers or prima ballerinas with stage experience in Russia.
Macuja-Elizalde, like Glushko, runs a ballet academy and still performs in lead roles. Lisa-Macuja is the artistic director of Ballet Manila which is managed by her husband.
The two ballerinas also discussed a possible joint venture that can be staged on Saipan and Guam later this year.
This past December, Glushko’s Academy drew over 1,000 attendees during two nights of performances — a new record.
Glushko Academy’s production was the Tchaikovsky Christmas ballet, “The “Nutcracker.”
“We had our best and most rewarding year ever in 2010, reaching new levels of performance and achievement on the part of our 45 local superstar children and our international performers,” Glushko said.
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