Alice Garcia Reyes (born October 14, 1942)[1][2] is a Filipina dancer, choreographer, teacher, director and producer. The founder (together with Eddie Elejar) of Ballet Philippines, she received since June 20, 2014 from the Philippine President Benigno Aquino III the highest award in the Arts, National Artist of the Philippines.[3] She was chiefly responsible in popularizing contemporary dance with the Alice Reyes Dance Company which staged the first modern dance concert at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Main Theater in February 1970. It was this company that later became Ballet Philippines. She is best known for "Bungkos Suite", "Carmen", "Carmina Burana", "Romeo and Juliet", "Rama Hari", "Cinderella", "Amada", "Itim-Asu", and "Tales of the Manuvu"—all nuanced with Filipino culture, gesture and grace.
Reyes was born on October 14, 1942. At a very young age, Reyes took up lessons in classical ballet under Rosalia Merino while studying at Maryknoll College where she completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Foreign Services.
In addition, she took up folk dance at the Bayanihan Philippine National Folk Dance Company. Thinking of deepening her professional studies, she went to America and enrolled in formal courses in modern dance and jazz.
In New York, she took the opportunity to take more formal studies at Sarah Lawrence College in Westchester County, New York.[4][2]
First marriage and divorce
Reyes was once married to Dick Upton, the current treasurer of Ballet Philippines, but they got separated in 1982. Upton later came out as gay and married his partner Elmer.[5]
Retirement
Reyes retired from Ballet Philippines in 1985 but still served as its artistic director until 1989. Her decision was motivated mainly by her desire to live with her second husband Ted Van Doorn and their family in California. She started using her married name, Alicia Van Doorn when credited for her artistic efforts during this time. She resumed using her maiden name after officially becoming a National Artist.[6]
After Reyes left, Ballet Philippines went through a string of artistic directors, most notably Paul Alexander Morales, who served for more than 8 years, and Alan Hineline, a choreographer and dancer who was born in Franklin, Ohio but is now based in New York. Hineline also served as chief operating officer of Ballet Philippines, overseeing a complete rebranding of the organization.
Return to Ballet Philippines
In 2017, Reyes was brought back on as the artistic director of Ballet Philippines (BP), just in time for the company’s 50th year anniversary. Her permanent residence was still in the US so she flew in and out of the Philippines for her occupation as artistic director.
BP exit and controversy
On February 6, 2020 the board of trustees of BP concluded a months-long search for a new artistic director and decided to go with renowned Russian ballet dancer Mikhail "Misha" Martynyuk. He was favored by the BP board over a handful of other candidates, including two who were personally endorsed by Reyes herself. These were Adam Sage, an American who had danced with BP in the late 1970's and came back as associate artistic director in 2017, and Ronelson Yadao, a dancer and choreographer who was being groomed by Reyes as the next associate artistic director for Sage. The two were not able to make it on the day of their interviews with BP for the artistic director position because of prior commitments and were denied to reschedule.
Reyes learned of Martynyuk's appointment after the BP board issued a circular and shared Martynyuk's credentials on an internal bulletin board. At this time, Reyes wrote to the board, congratulating the search committee on their decision. She added that she was looking forward to meeting her successor.
As news of Martynyuk's appointment and Reyes's subsequent replacement came out, along with the notion that it caught her off guard, various individuals expressed disapproval online and called for the appointment to be revoked. Reyes insists that she does not personally use social media so all views related to the topic expressed online have only been relayed to her through other mediums.
Reyes is scheduled to officially step down from her post as artistic director on March 31, 2020. This is a month earlier than the expiration date of the contract that she originally signed when she returned to the role back in 2018.[7]
Aftermath
Although Reyes had agreed to leave her artistic director post in April 2020 years prior, she has expressed disappointment at the turn of events that saw the introduction of a new artistic director before her departure.[8]
The CCP Professional Artist Support Program
When the pandemic hit in 2020, National Artist for Dance Alice Reyes was preparing for the restaging of “Rama, Hari” in March when the lockdown was enforced. Reyes recalled: “The pandemic came to us as total shock, dismay, disbelief, and life disruption in all ways, as it was for everyone else!”
With the help of friends and supporters of the arts and dance, I went into fundraising mode, launched the Adopt-a-Dancer campaign to try and keep as many of the displaced dancers training, dancing, creating, and earning, to pay rent and utilities, and to buy food.”
The CCP, with then president Nick Lizaso and Margie Moran Floirendo, spearheaded the Professional Dance Support Program which gave grants to displaced dancers. They were also able to set up a dance floor in the main lobby, where the doors fronting Roxas Boulevard could be kept open.
Continued Reyes: “We were able to hold classes, do lecture demonstrations, and make short videos for dance students and dance enthusiasts that we posted on social media. We also worked on new choreographies, which were then streamed online by the CCP to all the regions in the country and beyond.”
Protocol was put in place, and only so many dancers could be in the class at any given time. Temperatures were taken, masks required, distances kept, and constant disinfecting, sanitizing of floors, barres and furniture done at regular intervals.
Things got worse when the CCP ordered total closure of all its venues. “I brought the dancers to my home, turned two bedrooms into dance studios, and we went on via Zoom, doing ballet and modern dance classes. Our young choreographers worked from their homes with their dancers at different locations. That was something to witness! It’s proof of the saying if there is a will, there will indeed be a way. New works that were produced under such conditions were put online by the CCP as a very successful series of dance shows called Dance On!”
Reyes had to keep dancers busy even after dance hours. She gave her four resident dancers recipes to whip up, such as Greek pastitsio, lasagna, and all kinds of fancy pasta sauces, along with appetizers and sauces and desserts. Soon the dancers-turned-cooks were doing Eggs Benedict Brunches on Sundays out on her patio. “Friends and other dancers lined up to sit at the three communal tables, chairs at proper distances.”
More pandemic episodes: “This kept me busy, surrounded by all that youthful energy. Because we took all precautions, we all stayed healthy and active, though totally aware of and commiserating with the many lives lost, the numerous jobs gone, and businesses closing down.”
When the CCP opened its doors two years later (only to close again for a three-year renovation), her group was able to continue with an expanded Professional Artists Support Program (PASP) designed to give grants to displaced dancers from all professional dance companies.
They worked with dancers from the Philippine Ballet Theater, Ballet Manila, and Steps Dance Center. “We created full dance productions at the end of each six-month program. We added a new regional outreach program that brought in dancers from the different regions of the country. We were able to invite teachers and choreographers from all around Metro Manila. They gave lectures, choreographed, and coached dance teachers and students from all over the islands.[9]
Alice Reyes Dance Philippines
Alice Reyes Dance Philippines (ARDP) is the newest and most exciting addition to the Filipino dance scene. Founded by National Artist for Dance, Alice Reyes, the company focuses on dance education, mentoring, and creating new generations of Filipino dancers and choreographers, as well as showcasing an intangible heritage that every Filipino can be proud of, the astounding breadth of Filipino Works by National Artists and the top Filipino choreographers from 1969 on to today.
The company presented educational and production projects to the Cultural Center of the Philippines and collaborated with the CCP Arts Education Department. This resulted in over 2,500 classes taught and more than 40 extensive educational materials on the field of dance covering Classical Ballet, Modern and Contemporary Dance, Jazz, and Hip Hop.
A part of the CCP’s Professional Artist Support Program (PASP), the company, along with regional participants under their tutelage, created educational content and new choreographic works, including Erl Sorilla’s “Ghostlight” (2020), Ronelson Yadao’s “Ang Kabaligtaran ng Gunaw” (2021), “Tuloy ang Pasko” (2020) in collaboration with National Artist for Music Ryan Cayabyab, and “Visayan Suite of Dances” (2022) with a grant from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.
In 2022, ARDP and the PASP have partnered to present PULSO PILIPINAS I, together with guest artists from the regions, and three other productions: PULSO PILIPINAS II: ALAY nina ALICE at AGNES, PREMIERES AND ENCORES and PUSO NG PASKO.
For 2023, ARDP celebrated the best of Filipino talents. With award-winning productions that feature masterpieces in the Filipino Dance Repertoire, Agnes Locsin’s ENCANTADA, Alice Reyes’ RAMA, HARI, CARMEN AND OTHER SPIRITS, a mixed bill featuring Alice Reyes’ CARMEN with brand new works by the top Filipino Choreographers, and the celebration of Paskong Pinoy with PUSO NG PASKO, the artists of the PASP and ARDP share a new and exciting season of Dance.
ARDP opened 2024 with a rerun of Alice Reyes’ RAMA, HARI. The production will also have a National Tour with performances in Dumaguete and Bacolod. The company also premieres a brand new work for Children’s Theater, Erl Sorilla’s MGA KWENTO NI JUAN TAMAD and caps off the year with a National Tour of ARDP’s acclaimed Filipino Christmas Classic, PUSO NG PASKO.
The San Miguel Master Chorale (SMMC), now non-existent, was the first professional choir in the Philippines. It was composed of an all-Filipino roster ranging from faculty members and honor graduates of music conservatories, alumni of various choirs, choral conductors, composers, arrangers, and soloists.
Raymundo Cipriano Pujante Cayabyab, known professionally as Ryan Cayabyab, is a Filipino musician, composer and conductor regarded as one of the pillars and icons of Original Pilipino Music (OPM). He was the Executive and Artistic Director for several years for the defunct San Miguel Foundation for the Performing Arts. He was named National Artist of the Philippines for Music in 2018.
Maria Margarita Roxas Moran-Floirendo, professionally known as Margie Moran, is a Filipino beauty queen, actress and peace advocate who was the president of Ballet Philippines and previously served as chairperson of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. She is best known for winning the second Miss Universe crown for the Philippines as Miss Universe 1973.
The Cultural Center of the Philippines Foundation, Inc. is a government-owned and controlled corporation established to preserve, develop and promote arts and culture in the Philippines. The CCP was established through Executive Order No. 30 s. 1966 by President Ferdinand Marcos. Although an independent institution of the Philippine government, it receives an annual subsidy and is placed under the National Commission for Culture and the Arts for purposes of policy coordination. The CCP is headed by an 11-member Board of Trustees, currently headed by Chairperson Margarita Moran-Floirendo. Its current president is Arsenio Lizaso.
Nicanor G. Tiongson is a critic, creative writer and academic from the Philippines. He holds a Bachelor of Humanities degree from the Ateneo de Manila University, and M.A. and Ph.D. in Philippine Studies from the University of the Philippines. A founding member of the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino, Tiongson is currently Professor Emeritus of Film and Audio-visual Communication at the College of Mass Communication in U.P. Diliman.
Ballet Philippines (BP) is a ballet company in the Philippines founded in 1969 by Alice Reyes with the support of Eddie Elejar and the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Proficient in both ballet and modern dance, the company synthesizes diverse dance and movement forms into distinctively Filipino contemporary expressions. These include classical ballet, avant-garde choreography, traditional and modern dance, martial arts, and aerial movements.
Leonor Orosa Goquingco was a Filipino national artist in creative dance, who was also known for breaking tradition within dance. She played the piano, drew art, designed scenery and costumes, sculpted, acted, directed, danced and choreographed. Her pen name was Cristina Luna and she was known as Trailblazer, Mother of Philippine Theater Dance and Dean of Filipino Performing Arts Critics. She died on July 15, 2005, of cardiac arrest following a cerebro-vascular accident at the age of 87.
Maria Socorro "Kuh" Hashim Ledesma is a Filipino singer and actress. Regarded as “OPM'sPop Chanteuse”, she is noted for her "masterful" and "rich distinct vocal style."
Lisa Teresita Pacheco Macuja-Elizalde is a Filipino prima ballerina. In 1984, she became the first foreign soloist to ever join the Kirov Ballet. In the Philippines, she is the Artistic Director and CEO of Ballet Manila and was the Vice-Chairman of the Philippine UNESCO National Commission. She was also the Commissioner of the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women. Macuja-Elizalde is also Directress and faculty member of the Lisa Macuja School of Ballet – a training center for ballet professionals who are steeped in the Russian Vaganova method. She is also the founder of Project Ballet Futures (PBF) - an internationally recognized community scholarship program that provides training and performance opportunities for deserving public school students.
Georgina Johanna Garcia Sanchez is a ballerina from the Philippines. From 1995 to 2002 she was a company dancer of the ballet company, Ballet Philippines. She was invited by European choreographer and director Nicolas Musin to join the Abcdancecompany in St. Potten, Austria where she has been featured since 2002.
Jennifer Rose Olayvar is a ballerina from the Republic of the Philippines. She was a dancer for Ballet Manila from 2000 to 2013. She became the Special Assistant to Lisa Macuja-Elizalde from 2004 to 2007. Olayvar has taken minor and intermediate examinations for the Royal Academy of Dance London.
Feliciano Dilo "Lito" Calzado was a Filipino actor, director, and choreographer.
Celeste Kalugdan Legaspi-Gallardo is a Filipino singer, actress, film and theatre producer. She is an advocate for the rights of the artists. Her singles and albums reached gold or platinum status during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. She is the daughter of National Artist for Visual Arts César Legaspi. She has been one of the founders of the following artist organizations: Organisasyon ng Pilipinong Mang-aawit (OPM), Culturtain Musicat Theater Productions, Performers' Rights Society of the Philippines, and the OPM Archive. She is married to Nonoy Gallardo, an advertising director and one of the premier Original Pilipino Music composers.
Ramon Arevalo Obusan was a Filipino dancer, choreographer, stage designer and artistic director. Obusan is credited for his work in promoting Philippine traditional dance and cultural work. He is also an acclaimed archivist, researcher and documentary filmmaker who focused on Philippine culture. He also founded Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group in 1972. Among the awards Obusan received was the Patnubay ng Kalinangan award by the City of Manila in 1992, the Gawad CCP Para sa Sining award in 1993 and the prestigious National Artist of the Philippines for dance in May 2006.
Josephine Carmen Imutan Barredo, known professionally as Maniya Barredo, is a Filipina ballet dancer and instructor. She is best known as the first and only Prima ballerina of the Philippines, an honor that was declared in 1978.
Lucrecia Faustino Reyes-Urtula was a Filipino choreographer, theater director, teacher, author and researcher on ethnic dance. She was the founding director of the Bayanihan Philippine National Folk Dance Company and was named National Artist of the Philippines for dance in 1988.
Remedios "Totoy" de Oteyza was a Filipino dancer and choreographer.
Rosalia Merino Santos was a Filipino dancer, choreographer and educator. She has been called one of the pioneers in the development of modern dance in the Philippines.
Rama at Sita – The Musical is a 1999 full-length OPM Filipino musical in the Tagalog language. It is an adaptation of the 1980 Filipino rock opera ballet by three National Artists Bienvenido Lumbera, Ryan Cayabyab, and Alice Reyes entitled, "Rama, Hari", based on the Indian epic Ramayana topbilled by Kuh Ledesma and Basil Valdez. The production was directed by Leo Rialp and is considered the most expensive theatrical production in the Philippines to date.
Agnes Dakudao Locsin is a Filipino dance choreographer who is recognized as a National Artist of the Philippines.
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Order of National Artists of the Philippines 
