She was offered a contract but was told to take the Summer Intensive to prepare her for the season. Ling sent an email to Ballet Manila artistic director Lisa Macuja-Elizalde who agreed to let her come to participate in the company class for an audition. By then, Ling’s friend, Violet, was already in Ballet Manila so the teacher encouraged Ling to try out as well, thinking that she was a good fit for the company. Upon returning to Australia, she assessed her situation and decided to stay for another year while searching for more companies to audition for. She toured Europe with her fellow dancers to apply at various ballet companies – having fun as she explored the world while simultaneously getting her heart broken as she exited one audition after another. If you go like, ‘Oh, I can’t do this! They are so much younger,’ if you care about what they think about you then you cannot move on!”Īnd move on, Ling did! Despite the challenges, she forged ahead and completed her training. But what else can you do? You are the only one who can help yourself. I’m really grateful for my grandma who brought me to this. And the reality is that you cannot change the time and the environment so I was already grateful that I realized that I love arts and ballet is my passion. “At some point, how I wish Malaysia would be more aware and more appreciative of arts and not just academics. She had to work on her strengthening as well, as her late start made her more prone to injuries. She also had to take extra classes together with 11- and 12-year-old kids. She found herself training alongside 14-year-old girls who began taking ballet classes at the age of six. This, any dancer would agree, was a very late start. She began auditioning at 19 and eventually moved to Australia with Violet Hong (former company artist of Ballet Manila and fellow Malaysian) where she began what she described as her serious full-time ballet training at 20. At 18 years old, she started taking part-time jobs to earn money for her ballet training. Putting the determination she inherited from her grandmother to good use, Ling eventually won her parents over. And she freaked out! And then my teachers freaked out!” I told my mom and I insisted on doing that. The life span is shorter than other stuff. You can still go back when you’re 40 or 50. So when I told my parents and my teachers – even my piano teachers – okay, I want to do arts… because the academics can wait. Definitely not arts! I loved both piano and ballet when I became more matured. “In Malaysia during my time, and usually in Asian countries, parents would push for the academics,” she reveals. When Ling decided to pursue it as a serious career, it also marked the beginning of a lifelong battle to fight for the art form that she loves. It allowed her to run free and move around with her friends while expressing herself artistically – a polar opposite to her piano lessons (that she was eventually allowed to take) which was a one-on-one instruction with a teacher that insisted on concentration and quiet.īut in her household, ballet was meant to be a hobby. Pressed to choose only one, the pink tutu won and she eventually chose to concentrate on ballet.īallet became Ling’s outlet to expend much of her excess energy. Brought to a studio that offered piano, drawing, and ballet lessons, the energetic toddler immediately declared that she wanted to learn everything. That passion began as a very young child with a grandmother insistent on raising a well-rounded and artistic grandchild. They were really shocked but also very proud of me because I am the only one among my friends who is still pursuing my dream and following my passion,” shares the feisty young lady. ‘Oh my god! You’re still doing ballet?’ I have friends who are already getting married, have their own business, have their family and things like that. Even now, friends around me would still be really shocked. It’s even worse than becoming an actress, to be honest, because it is not that common. When people say ‘ballet,’ people think it’s like the music box with a ballerina dancing inside. Today, she has proven every single one of them wrong. The Malaysian dancer has had to overcome doubts, disappointments, injuries, and surgeries in her relentless pursuit to become a professional ballerina – a dream that some believed was beyond her reach. To try until one succeeds, to focus on the goals rather than the obstacles, to push one’s self because no one else will, to dream bigger, and to wake up determined and go to bed satisfied – she has lived all these and more. To describe the life and career of Ballet Manila company artist Xiu Ling Tan is to recite every single inspirational meme that social media has ever produced and made viral.
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