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Elisa Carrillo Cabrera is the first Mexican to win the three most important awards in the dance world. She's the winner of the Benois de la Danse award, the Soul of Dance from Russia, and the Festival Dance Open in Saint Petersburg.
Carrillo was born in Mexico, and like many ballet artists, she began her career from an early age. "I was always a very active child in the sense that I liked to move with music," she said in an interview for TV Azteca. Her first steps in dance were at the School of Artistic Initiation, and then at the National Institute of National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature. By 1997, she moved to the United Kingdom to attend the English National Ballet School. Shortly after, she was designated as the Master of Ballet by the Ministry of Education of the German Federation.
Elisa joined the Stuttgart Ballet in 1999, going from one of the team dancers to a soloist, ultimately joining the Staatsballett Berlin, starring as "Snow White" under the choreographer Angelin Preljocaj. The performance was beloved by German critics, placing her as one of the main figures of contemporary dance.
For artists like Elisa, their commitment to their art isn't only based on the stage, but also in their work in arts and culture. She became an ambassador of Culture for Mexico, a member of the International Council of Dance UNESCO, the art director at the Sir Anton Dolin Foundation, and the artistic co-director of the National Company of Dance in Mexico.
"It'd be wonderful if the arts could be pushed from an educational perspective, that way they're a part of the daily lives of kids in Mexico," she said upon receiving the Premio Cronica in Culture in Mexico.
She founded the Elisa Carrillo Foundation, providing opportunities for dancers to develop their skills. Since 2018, she is an organizer for the International Festival of Dance Danzatlan.
"My daughter has been in ballet since she was born. My husband and I always wanted her to see what her parents do. It was super important to me. When she was just over three years old, she told us that she wanted to take ballet classes. She enjoys it. She loves music and playing the piano."
In 2019, she won the Prix Benois de la Danse for her performance in "Romeo and Juliet," making her the second Mexican dancer to acquire this award. She's the only Mexican woman to have achieved this.
Carrillo is a mother to seven-year-old Maya Elisa, whom she shares with Mikhail Kaniskin, also a dancer. The two married 17 years ago. "There was a moment in my career when we traveled, and had different performances, but I started to feel empty. It was beautiful but there was this love between us and that wish to have more and it became very clear to me," she said of motherhood in 2022. "I saw mothers with their kids and I wanted that. I think there's never a perfect time."