A good—and sizeable—mix of interesting women achievers and stylesetters, with interesting men, gathered at The Theatre at Solaire to watch a short film on profiles of Cream Silk’s world-class Filipinas—Lea Salonga, Anne Curtis, Toni Gonzaga and Heart Evangelista.
Unilever Philippines chair and CEO Rohit Jawa, in his welcome remarks, spoke of how Unilever prides itself in “crafting brands with purpose. More than just products, we aim to develop a deeper connection with the people we serve.”
Elaborating on Jawa’s words, Lorenzana said in her speech: “We do this by taking time to understand and listen to Filipinos—understand their needs, aspirations and dreams.”
Raising the bar
Last year, Cream Silk celebrated its 30th year by presenting over 150 #BeyondBeautiful Filipinas.
This year, it raises the bar yet again by thrusting the Filipino woman into the world stage.
Lorenzana added, “Oftentimes, Filipinas hold back in the pursuit of their dreams because they tend to set limits to what they can achieve… In these ever-changing times, we find the world is getting smaller and starting to embrace diversity…
“The Cream Silk World-Class Filipina movement is about getting all Filipinas, whatever their talents and skills may be, to realize that there are no limits to what they can achieve.
“No dream is too big for the Filipina because she is world-class.”
The short film was directed by Marie Jamora.
Equally as engrossing as the film was the speech delivered by Lisa Macuja-Elizalde to introduce the film.
While Macuja-Elizalde is the country’s best known prima ballerina, still her speech yielded fresh insights and interesting memories, even to those in the audience who knew her.
She began: “When my mom brought me to my first ballet class back when I was 8 years old, she never imagined that ballet would take over the rest of my life. Well, neither did I!
“At the time, ballet was something for me to do after class because I was quite the restless little girl who couldn’t sit still. I guess it worked both ways—I had all the energy I needed for those extra hours in the ballet studio… But it was also very hard for me to focus!
“So I guess the earliest lessons ballet instilled in me were discipline and concentration—two very important qualities to develop if you want to excel in any profession.
“To my mother’s surprise, I stuck it out with ballet and, at 12, I danced in my first recital and went on pointe for the first time. I was 14 when I had the good fortune to watch a performance of Japanese prima ballerina Yoko Morishita, who came to Manila to perform in ‘Swan Lake.’ Needless to say, I was blown away! Only then did I realize that it was actually possible to be petite and Asian—and still be able to achieve world-class status in this very demanding Western art form!
“From that moment on, I decided I wanted to become a classical ballerina. Not just a good ballerina but the best ballerina I could ever be.
“On my 18th birthday, while other girls my age were fitting ball gowns and heels for their grand debut, I was busy packing tights and pointe shoes.”
Poignant
Most poignant was her memory of her life in Russia.
“The week I turned 18, I left the Philippines to study in the world’s toughest ballet school—the Russian Ballet Academy in Saint Petersburg, where many of the legendary dancers of the Kirov Ballet were trained.
“For two years, I was drilled day in and day out by very demanding teachers who found my being Filipino a curiosity, to say the very least… I was isolated in the heart of the former Soviet Union, learning a new language, a new culture, and practically living in the ballet studios even in the dead of winter.
“There were many nights I cried myself to sleep because of either physical pain from my tired, aching body … or simply from the pain of missing my family and friends back home.
“But giving up was not an option. Sometimes, being stubborn can be a good thing if channeled toward a positive goal. Just because something is difficult, it doesn’t mean it’s impossible. You just have to be determined, creative and willing to make some sacrifices in order to achieve your dream. Because success always starts with a dream!”
She cited mind-boggling statistics: “In his best-selling book ‘Outliers,’ Malcolm Gladwell repeatedly mentions the ‘10,000-Hour Rule.’ His theory is that the key to success in any field is, to a large extent, the result of practicing a specific task for a total of around 10,000 hours. So if I started ballet at 8 and practiced for a minimum of four hours a day, every single day, for the last 42 years, that means I had done this specific task for 61,320 hours of my life—at the very least…
“Ballet was, is and will always be my first love. You need this kind of intimacy with your work in large proportions and then some more. To achieve in the arts, culture or entertainment industry, you need talent, creativity, credible mentors, a great team, good opportunities, ample resources—and lots and lots of love for your work.
“In this incredible journey of life, I have only one advice: Follow your heart—it will never lead you astray.”
Never has a brand event stirred one’s memory so much.