Joyfully Yours: Ballet Philippines

Sunday, April 2, 2017

Alice Reyes returns as the Artistic Director of Ballet Philippines

Coming full circle, Ballet Philippines’ founder, National Artist for Dance, Alice Reyes steps back into the company’s helm as Artistic Director starting this 48^th 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 50^th 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 50^th 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 48^th 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

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Agnes Locsin's "La Revolucion Filipina" opens Ballet Philippines’ 45th Anniversary (The Sapphire Season) on July 25

Joyfullyurs 8:36:00 AM 0 Comments

Ballet Philippines, the country’s classical and contemporary company in cooperation with the National Historical Commission of the Philippines proudly announces the return of Agnes Locsin’s La Revolucion Filipina to kick off the company’s 45^th Anniversary – The Sapphire Season.

The sublime paralytic Apolinario Mabini and the story of his role in the Philippine Revolution are brought into the limelight once again, just in time for the hero’s sesquicentennial birth anniversary.

Named Outstanding Dance Production and winner of Outstanding Choreography for Agnes Locsin at the 2008 Gawad Buhay! Awards, La Revolucion Filipina features original music by Ryan Cayabyab and libretto by Dennis Marasigan.

Choreographer Agnes Locsin was a former artistic director and resident choreographer of Ballet Philippines. She was the Gawad CCP awardee for Dance in 2012.

This fourth restaging of the modern dance masterpiece is led by three members of La Revolucion Filipina’s original cast, Annette Cruz-Mariano, Judell de Guzman-Sicam, and Alden Lugnasin.

The role of Mabini was choreographed on Lugnasin, now the company’s resident choreographer and artistic director of Ballet Philippines II.

Preparations for the production began at the start of summer, with eleven of the company’s dancers being sent to Davao for a six-week residency at the Locsin Dance Workshop. The dancers underwent intensive training in Agnes Locsin’s signature Neo-Ethnic dance style on top of taking regular classical ballet classes. They also participated in the 32nd Locsin Dance Summer Showcase on May 14 alongside the Dance Workshop's regular students.

BP principal dancer Jean Marc Cordero plays the role of Apolinario Mabini. Cordero danced Mabini in the 2008 restaging, which was his first lead role for the company. He shares the stage with BP principal dancer Richardson Yadao and Tanghalang Pilipino actor Nicolo Magno, the new production’s Emilio Aguinaldos.

Jean Marc Cordero as Apolinario Mabini

Several notable actors have essayed the role of Aguinaldo, starting with Nonie Buencamino, then Raymond Bagatsing and Richard Joson. The most recent cast included former Ballet

Philippines

dancers Angel Gabriel and Patrick Rebullida.

Agnes Locsin’s La Revolucion Filipina will be performed at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater) from July 25 to 27, 2014. The show is at 3pm and 8 pm (Friday and Saturday) and 2pm and 6pm (Sunday).

The artistic and creative teams of La Revolucion Filipina are led by Agnes Locsin (Choreographer), Ryan Cayabyab (Music Composer), Dennis Marasigan (Librettist), Mio Infante (Set Designer), Virgilio “Katsch” Catoy (Lighting Designer), Victor Ursabia (Costume Designer), Annette Cruz-Mariano, Judell de Guzman-Sicam and Alden Lugnasin (Restagers).

For bulk reservations, show buys, and inquiries, visit www.ballet.ph, send an email to info@ballet.ph, or call Ballet Philippines at 551-1003. For tickets, call the CCP Box Office at 832-3704 or Ticketworld at 891-9999.

Connect to Ballet

Philippines

online through the following social media networks:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/balletphilippines

Twitter: @balletph

Instagram: @balletphilippines

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/balletph

The 45^th Anniversary Sapphire Season. Rare scenes of power and grace. Love, valour and redemption. Under the artistic directorship of Paul Alexander Morales, this is a toast to 45 years of dance excellence!

See you at the theater!!!

# Agnes Locsin # Ballet Philippines