by MANUEL RAPALO
Professional ballerina Elisa Carrillo was recently awarded the prestigious Prix Benois de la Danse.
In 2019, Mexican artists are turning heads in every corner of the international art world and Elisa Carrillo is no exception.
The 38-year-old professional ballerina recently became the first Mexican woman to receive the prestigious Prix Benois de la Danse, an award that is akin to winning an Oscar for best ballet performance. Some have called it the “Nobel Prize of dance”.
“I truly want this award to be something for the country,” said Carrillo, speaking to journalists during a press conference in the courtyard of Mexico’s National Auditorium.
I sat down with Elisa for an interview while she was promoting the start of Danzatlan, a national dance festival she established in 2018 to promote Mexican arts and culture.
Elisa joined me backstage where we spoke about her ballet career and her work as a cultural ambassador for the government.
We also spoke about violence, an unavoidable topic in Mexico these days.
“It makes me so sad to think about the situation this country is going through,” she said. “But I believe that art, culture, sport, all of this, can help younger generations have a different view of the future.”
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