Coming full circle, Ballet Philippines’ founder, National Artist
for Dance, Alice Reyes steps back into the company’s helm as Artistic Director
starting this 48th season.
“It is our great honor to welcome Alice back,” says BP President
Margie Moran Floirendo. “She has generously given the company much support
especially over the past few years. We felt that this was the perfect time for
her to take on a more active role in the company’s overall planning and
direction, particularly in leading us to our 50th season in 2019.”
“I am elated to be coming in at this most opportune time,” says
Alice Reyes. “The company is two short years away from its golden anniversary,
and so this is a fantastic chance to start drumming up the energy and keep it
up even beyond the 50th season.”
Alice Reyes is the visionary founder of Ballet Philippines who
propelled the company into a national arts institution we can all be proud of.
In the Philippines, she established regular season concerts, professionalized
dance as a career, and played a major role in the phenomenal development of
dance in the country.
With a background in ballet, folk dancing and jazz, Reyes
ventured into the challenging and exciting realm of modern dance. Through a
grant from the John D. Rockefeller III Fund, she went through an extensive
training period in the United States at the Colorado College under a Hanya Holm
scholarship. She was subsequently awarded a grant from the Music Promotion
Foundation of the Philippines, which enabled her to study further under leading
exponents of the medium and earn a Master of Arts in Dance from the Sarah
Lawrence College under its scholarship program.
Upon her return in 1969, she staged her first modern dance
concert at the CCP. Its success made her decide to remain in the Philippines
and develop the great potential of dance in the country. Since then, her
outstanding performances on stage have provided artists an enriching example to
emulate. The sheer diversity of her choreographic talent has produced highly
acclaimed works ranging from the classics like “Cinderella” and “Romeo and
Juliet”, to Filipino modern works like “Amada”, “Itim-Asu”, “Bayanihan
Remembered”, “Mga Babae”, “Tales of the Manuvu”, and “Rama Hari”. Through her
efforts, dance has become among the country’s respected careers and
distinguished professions. The Filipino dancers have emerged as an
indispensable part of our cultural heritage.
She served as Ballet Philippines’ Artistic Director for the
company’s first 20 years. In June 20, 2014, Alice Reyes was declared National
Artist for Dance by President Benigno S. Aquino III through Proclamation No.
807.
Paul Alexander Morales will be on sabbatical leave for the 48th
season. He served as Ballet Philippines’ Artistic Director from 2009 to 2017.
Ballet Philippines (BP) is the flagship professional classical
and contemporary dance company in the country. A resident company of the
Cultural Center of the Philippines, it was founded in 1969 by Alice Reyes and
Eddie Elejar. It is widely recognized today as a cornerstone of the
contemporary Filipino identity. The Ballet Philippines Dance School continues
to produce dancers of international caliber.
Connect to Ballet
Philippines online through the following social media networks:
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/balletphilippines
Twitter: @balletph
Instagram:
@balletphilippines
YouTube: balletph
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