Unwavering passion: How dance guided an artist to her purpose

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MANILA, Philippines — It's been said that dance comes in different forms. They are approached differently just as they are perceived by those who watch them unfold, and more importantly by the dancers that bring them to life.

Such is the power of dance to influence emotion through movement, as well as the capacity to provide internal change for those in search of it.

"Dance has always been my language of communication," New York-based dancer Misha Bernas told Philstar.com. "I have long been drawn to connecting with others, and I believe we often forget that movement was our first language. There are things we cannot fully express through words alone, and that is where dance becomes essential."

Misha is the first Filipino recruited to train with The Young Americans, a California-based performing group that goes on global tours to teach workshops to and perform with local students through music and movement.

The artist recounted during a 2013 feature how she got accepted into the group a year after injuring both knees and ankles in a dance concert, leading to months of physical therapy and rehabilitation.

'Experience the gift of dance'

Dance has always been a part of Misha's life, beginning at four years old with classes at the Halili-Cruz School of Ballet. Even as other co-curricular activities like musical theater and football came into the picture, she always found her way back to dance.

The same institution allowed Misha to represent the Philippines at several Asia Pacific Dance Competitions, but beyond any placements, it was the intensive preparation that stuck with her — she even compared it to the 2000 film "Center Stage," the debut movie of Oscar winner Zoe Saldaña.

Those experiences played a part in the dancer's travels with The Young Americans, which took her to Europe and Japan, with participants between the ages of 3 and 8 ranging from 300 to a thousand.

The Japan tour also exposed her to working with 2011 Fukushima tsunami survivors and the trauma they still navigate, "Emotions and experiences are stored in the body, and movement is a way to sit with these emotions, externalize one's internal experiences, and process."

Global experiences led to Misha developing the "Feel Good 'n Flow" movement program, ideally to bridge the gap between different perceptions of dance.

"I wanted everyone to experience the gift of dance in their own way," she shared, calling it a happy challenge to engage with those felt they couldn't dance. "By learning to read the room and acknowledge the natural awkwardness of a first class, I created a space that offers permission for anyone to belong."

Misha brought all those learning with her to complete her Psychology degree at the Ateneo de Manila University, where she was a member, and later Contemporary Director of the Company of Ateneo Dancers (CADs).

Her worlds collided upon pitching to bring CADs to Dance Excellence — the global festival where she first encountered The Young Americans — and for the first time directed a company outside the country, a feat she would repeat twice with her own dance company.

Misha noted how the curiousity to dance at four years grow to be a consistent thread in her life, making dance feel like a space to I be alive and keep growing.

While she acknowledges that dance doesn't define her identity, it does play a central role in how she engages with her body, mind, others, and her lived experiences.

"[Dance] allows me to build meaningful connections and communicate beyond words; in this way, dance becomes a tool for self-awareness, as well as a grounding force and a lens through which I better understand myself and the world around me," Misha said.

She added that her decisions about dance come in quiet moment — standing at the ballet bar, watching the rain — all to help her thrive and become fully present in all she does.

"Now, every time I return to it, I listen to my body, and it leads me to what matters most," the dancer continued. "I go back to those early childhood moments when I paid attention to what my body felt."

Finding purpose

As a young creative, Misha would focus on big technical skills. This as she saw dance through a linear approach, where one has to challenge themselves and train to maintain what is learned.

These days, however, she's found fascination in the everyday gestures, explaining that, "While developing technical skill remains important, I have found that true creativity lies in exploring and playing with movement beyond technique rather than simply adhering to it."

"Returning to simple yet profound movement patterns, human responses, and natural reactions that are rich with meaning has reshaped how I approach my work," she also said. "This shift now informs my choreography, storytelling, and the way I build relationships with both artists and people more broadly."

Misha still attends physical therapy regularly to learn about the complexity of the human body, how it compensates, and how it functions as an interconnected system.

Multiple sessions have deepened her understanding that of a strong and healthy body comes from learning how it moves, listening to its cues, and recognizing that every body is different.

She applies such awareness to her dance direction, with the intention of a group to move in harmony while also allowing each person to express movement in a way that is true to their own body

"I want everyone to be able to experience the gift of dance, and cultivating inclusive spaces for people to connect through movement, I believe, will be my lifelong purpose," Misha told Philstar.com. "This approach supports both clarity in performance and more sustainable, mindful ways of moving."

Other things the dancer learned is the importance of leaning in or paying attention, rather than pushing through, and responding to what the body is communicating.

If something causes pain, it's a signal something is off. The awareness to listen to one's bodies is shaped by her exposure to Ohad Naharin's Gaga movement language.

Misha's interest in Naharin's work and philosophy deepened after being accepted into Gaga movement language programs around the world like New York, Japan, and Italy, reigniting her love for dance.

That led her to Tel Aviv, Israel where the practice originated and home of the Batsheva Dance Company. Learning about the company's — which did not use mirror to train — work meant understanding movement through an embodied sense of awareness, rather than visual feedback.

An example Misha gave was extending a leg wasn't about checking the height in a mirror, but about being mentally and kinesthetically aware of the relationship between different parts of the body, including the space between the foot and the rest of the body.

When the pandemic hit, the dancer continued training through online classes almost daily. Getting accepted for a month-long program further strengthened her commitment to the practice.

In time Misha was invited to teach her Feel Good 'n Flow movement program to several Philippine hospital, was hired by a dance studio as teacher, and taught workshops in Manila, Japan, and California.

That all led to becoming a part of the Ateneo de Manila University's School of Humanities faculty to teach "Expressive Dance: Dance Movement Exploration," which only encouraged her to pursue a master's degree that blended both her psychology and dance backgrounds.

As a scholar in Sarah Lawrence College's Dance/Movement Therapy program in New York, her culminating thesis focused on the cultural considerations of applying dance or movement therapy in the Philippines, specifically exploring how collectivist values like "hiya" and "pakikisama" shape the therapeutic process.

"I delved into the historical context and learned how these are beneficial to our survival, even before the Spanish colonization," Misha explained. "Having been born and raised in the Philippines but trained in the West, my goal was to bridge these two worlds, honoring traditional Filipino relational styles while utilizing Western frameworks."

Her dance and movement therapy work in a New York children's hospital was recently published by the American Journal of Dance Therapy, alongside co-authors Xiao Chuan Xie and Nicole Mulet, who have supported her throughout the master's program.

The research stemmed from her being a dance educator and lecturer in the Philippines, deepened by her learnings in the master's program supported by scholarships from Sarah Lawrence College, the American Dance Therapy Association, the Marian Chace Foundation, and the Asian Cultural Council.

In it she described how "paghahandog,"" pakikisama," and "cura personalis" comes through in how she facilitates dance and movement practices.

Today's movements

Dance continues to bring Misha to new opportunities, and not just within the arts: "Dance has helped me inform both what I’m currently experiencing and what is possible."

"It has allowed me to pay attention to what I’m experiencing, whether it’s pain or stress," she continued. "It has brought me closer to so many new and unexpected experiences that may not have been available for me if it weren’t for the communities and long-lasting friendships that dance has led me to."

Other things dance has done for the artist was take her to different countries and land sustainable jobs: performer, embodied theater actor, choreographer, therapist, and much more.

On the topic of directing or choreographing, Misha discussed with Philstar.com the engagement between herself and the other artist/s — often a performer or playwright.

Performing that engagement translates between her and the audience, a concept she continues to enjoy.

"Nothing beats the feeling of excitement when you're about to enter the stage and you're taking a few deep breaths by the wings, you hear the cue to step on, the lights focus, and in that liminal space, the only thing that matters is being present in the moment," Misha reflected.

She explained that performing gives her multi-sensory experience requiring her to be fully focused, where nothing outside of the artistic vision matters.

Engaging audiences interactivaly continues to be something she is passionate about, and part of that is prioritizing inclusivity, bringing together people to promote mutual understanding.

Misha also took note of the growing interest of people to take dance classes, something she attributes to the pandemic and TikTok.

Back then, she noticed, such classes would only be summer programs or in dance schools. Now more areas and studios are opening their spaces to people, particularly for beginners.

Another thing she's noticed is in places like Europe and New York, there is less focus on the aesthetic and more on the raw joy of movement and expression.

For the Philippines and other Asian communities, Misha observed that dance is often deeply tied to group harmony — looking good as a unit so no one individual stands out.

"This is rooted in 'hiya,' which isn't just shyness, but a cultural value of modesty," she explained. "My hope is for a future where we hear less of the 'ay wow, ang galing' or 'bida-bida' labels that often force us to shrink to keep others comfortable and avoid taking a dance class in the first place."

Her graduate studies have taughter her that "taking space isn't about dominating" but rather "providing a 'permission slip' for everyone else to do the same."

"Wouldn’t it be nice if the whole world was able to engage authentically and express themselves freely?" Misha posited, adding that while not everyone will feel safe in a class, she herself can strive to cultivate a space where they feel or become brave to dance. "Dance should be accessible to anyone who is interested in it."

Looking back, forward

Had Misha never gone back to dance after her 2012 injury, she likely would have put her focus medicine and become a psychiatrist.

She compared working in a hospital to being in a dance company," [Both] requires collaborative decision-making, being a team player, and interacting with so many people in one day."

If she were to quit dance now, however, Misha said she'd be in arts management serving as Program Coordinator for LikhaPH Non-Profit organization and advocating for local artists.

An effort she'd like pursue if dance were out of the picture is create programs for teaching artists and underserved populations, utilizing more arts-based interventions to support their long-term growth and development.

"Ultimately, I would be doing something related to bringing people together and creating inclusive spaces for them to feel brave enough to express," she reflected further.

She is proud though of the answering "yes, and" to all the "what ifs" that led to opportunities in building a career in dance, calling the journey a "lifelong challenge, privilege, and a difficult yet rewarding path."

Misha noted witnessing truly priceless moments of growth, clarity, and insight from the thousands of people she's worked it, and meeting new people keeps her going all because of dance as a tool for connection.

Above all she is proud of the little Misha wanted to join the dance community and since built one filled with artists around the world.

Finishing her master's program has seen Misha return to the performing arts and she's already looking forward to projects that have been pitched to her.

She's particularly looking forward to facilitating themed dance and movement retreats for high-performing dancers, actors, athletes, corporate professionals, healthcare workers, artists of different modalities, or simply people who want to learn how to dance.

"It literally feels like coming home to what I was doing before my master's, and now with added depth from the rich life lessons I learned in the program," she said.

Misha went as far as to call her conversation with Philstar.com a "check-in" with what's happened in the past decade or so.

Last month, Misha wrapped up performances of "Buong/Buo" in New York with Kenneth Keng and Carlos Lising, and among the collective developments is to bring it to Manila and Japan."

She expressed gratitude to the two for allowing her to be part of the project, recalling a renewed sense of purpose in creating and performing work that represents Filipino heritage

From a personal reflection, because theater remains a soft spot in her life, Misha is still chasing the dream of playing Velma Kelly in "Chicago."

And while she started out as a ballet dancer that transitioned into contemporary and modern movement, that became the dominant perception, Misha was a member of the award-winning local hip-hop group Legit Status — but her love of theater jazz, especially Bob Fosse's style, never wavered.

"It's really exciting to see how limitless dance can be even after all these years," the dancer ended. "I never would have imagined being here, and so I am curious about what dance would look like for me 10 years down the road."

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