Maniya Barredo, The Prima Ballerina Of The Philippines, Reflects On Her Past 60 Years In Ballet
Maniya Barredo celebrates her 60th year as a professional ballerina.
Patricia Gagne
Maniya Barredo, who became the first and only prima ballerina from the Philippines at 26 years old, has had a magnificent dancing career. Now into her 60th year as a professional ballerina, she doesn’t plan on slowing down anytime soon.
On Saturday, she’ll be receiving the “Pioneer of Atlanta Dance” award at the Modern Atlanta Dance Festival. On top of that great achievement, Barredo is also celebrating the 20th anniversary of founding of the Metropolitan Ballet Theatre. “City Lights” host Lois Reitzes spoke with Barredo about how her ballet career has evolved and transitioned over the last six decades.
Barredo’s life began in the Philippines with eight siblings. At 3 years old she became interested in dance after watching her older sister perform at her aunt’s small studio. Known to her family and friends as “Honey,” due to her skin and hair color, she was a gifted dancer from the start. She was offered a scholarship to move to New York and attend the prestigious Joffrey School for ballet at 19 years old. That’s where “Honey” became known as Maniya Barredo. Robert Joffrey of the Joffrey School gave her the stage name after observing her outstanding talents on stage.
“I think there is only two of us who he gave new names. The name was originally “Manila” (after the capital of the Philippines), but in Spanish it’s pronounced Maniya,” Barredo said about her new identity.
The move to a foreign country was a difficult adjustment. She lived on the bare minimum while attending school, in order to send money back to her family in the Philippines. After school, she became a resident dancer of Les Grands BAllets Canadiens before transferring to the Atlanta Ballet. During her 20-year relationship with the Atlanta Ballet, she performed some of her most memorable pieces from Romeo and Juliet to the Sugar Plum Fairy.
In 1978, Barredo was awarded one of the most prestigious honors by Dame Margot Fonteyn at a performance in the Philippines.
“After the show, she [Dame Fonteyn] had two bouquets and she gave both of them to me. And in front of everyone, she announced ‘This is your Prima Ballerina of the Philippines,’ Barredo said.
After retiring from the Atlanta Ballet, she decided to open Metropolitan Ballet Theatre in Alpharetta. The studio teaches students who want to learn how to dance professionally.
Nowadays, Barredo enjoys the outdoors with her husband and their three horses in north Georgia. She continues to teach at the Metro, but now she’s taking more time to live life outside studio walls.
Top Stories
