The National Artists show up in ‘Pasasalamat’ to show support for National Artist (Dance) Alice Reyes (center). They are, from left, National Ryan Cayabyab (Music), BenCab (Visual Arts), Ramon Santos (Music), Virgilio Almario (Literature) (Photo by Edna Vida)
National Artist Alice Reyes and Norman Walker after ‘Pasasalamat’ performance at the Proscenium Theater Rockwell (Photo by Thelma San Juan)
When the Alice Reyes Dance Philippines (ARDP) staged Pasasalamat last August 1—the pre-opening show of the Proscenium Theater at Rockwell Makati—the packed house not only had a privileged foretaste of the state-of-the-art theater in Metro Manila’s arts scene, it also stood witness to the culminating triumph of this five-year-old dance company over great adversity. ARDP was founded by National Artist Alice Reyes at the start of the pandemic to continue giving free rein to a passion for dance, to this artist’s commitment that helped define ballet and modern dance in the Philippines. And those were pandemic years of challenges and struggles.
Watching Pasasalamat, you realized how this struggling dance company has beat the odds.
“It has been both humbling and inspiring,” Alice Reyes told TheDiarist.ph.
“What began as a simple quest to keep dancers and repertory dance masterpieces alive developed into a growing dance platform with real impact.
“Artists were nurtured. New works were created and shared with regional audiences all over the country.
Renzen Arboleda in Bam Damian’s ‘C’est La Cie’ (Photo by Erica Jacinto)
Norman Walker’s ‘Songs of a Wayfarer’ (Photo by Kurt Copon)
Norman Walker’s ‘Seraphic Fire’ (Photo by Kurt Copon)
Erl Sorilla’s ‘Mga Kuwento ni Juan Tamad’ (Photo by Erica Jacinto)
Krislynne Buri and Renzen Arboleda in Monica Gana’s ‘Para Kay Gabriela’ (Photo by Erica Jacinto)
Real dialogue with dance, theater and music communities took place.
“The speed of the company’s growth reflects the tremendous energy and commitment of everyone involved. New patrons of the arts thankfully appeared, and sponsors and donors who enabled us to actively carry on with our mission.”
Pasasalamat saw the world premiere of Norman Walker’s Seraphic Fire, with Walker himself in attendance. It also staged excerpts from the acclaimed repertoire of ARDP: Songs of a Wayfarer (Norman Walker), C’est La Cie (by Augustus “Bam” Damian III), Mga Kwento ni Juan Tamad (Erl Sorilla), Para Kay Gabriela (Monica Gana).
Marge Enriquez reviews:
Against a cyclorama of crimson and cobalt blue waves, 16 dancers in angelic blue and white positioned themselves across the stage, arms outstretched, faces lifted as if reaching up for the divine. The image—repeated throughout Norman Walker’s new work, ‘Seraphic Fire’—spoke of triumph and thanksgiving, mirroring the title of Alice Reyes Dance Philippines’ concert, ‘Pasasalamat.’
ARDP’s third season has been marked by the challenge of steep theater rentals and the absence of a permanent home. This performance, however, came as a bonus: the company was among the few invited to test Rockwell’s new Proscenium Theater before its formal opening in September.
It was an opportunity to demonstrate that, even as an emerging company, ARDP’s repertoire already bears the stamp of a legacy company shaped by the vision of National Artist Alice Reyes.
Ejay Arisola in Norman Walker’s ‘Songs of a Wayfarer’ (Photo by Erica Jacinto)
Walker’s ‘Songs of a Wayfarer,’ a meditation on unrequited love, and ‘Seraphic Fire,’ an abstract study of angels in shifting moods, carried the imprint of classic Graham technique—body tilts, spirals and skirts flaring like ripples after every high kick, evoking Reyes’ pioneering CCP Dance Company in the 1970s, when modern dance was still unfamiliar to Filipino audiences.
Ricmar Bayoneta as Juan Tamad in Erl Sorilla’s ‘Mga Kuwento ni Juan Tamad’ (Photo by Kurt Copon)
‘Not bound by history. Reyes’ vision insists on renewal
Yet ARDP is not bound by history. Reyes’ vision insists on renewal, urging her dancers to choreograph and speak in their own voices. That spirit unfolded in Erl Sorilla’s ‘Mga Kuwento ni Juan Tamad,’ a playful children’s ballet that follows a folk hero’s transformation. Here, the Proscenium Theater’s acoustics shone as Juan, portrayed by Ricmar Bayoneta, delivered his lines and even sang with crisp clarity.
Monica Gana in Bam Damian’s ‘C’est La Cie’ (Photo by Erica Jacinto)
Monica Gana offered a contrasting mood in ‘Alay Kay Gabriela,’ a duet steeped in revolutionary fervor, where Gabriela and Diego Silang meet in fleeting tenderness.
Former Ballet Philippines’ artistic director Augustus “Bam” Damian was a class unto himself. In ‘C’est La Cie (That’s How it is),’ he dismantled the lyricism of ballet, piecing together a sharp vocabulary, honed through years of dance in Europe, yet wholly his own.
Meanwhile, the production team reveled in the theater’s automated curtains and intelligent lights.
For ARDP, it was a night that honored the past, embraced the present, and signaled a future alive with possibility.
“I am deeply grateful for how far ARDP has come in such a short period of time,” Reyes told TheDiarist.ph
She recalled: “We got our start right after the pandemic shut down life, as we knew it, in 2020. For the company of dancers who were all dancing at their best form, there was a serious need to keep dancing, training, creating, and even performing.
“We were able to do this by raising funds for salaries, and with the help of Margie Moran Floirendo and Chris Millado of the CCP, at the encouragement of then president Nick Lizaso. During the pandemic, a dance floor was set up at the CCP Lobby. Its doors were opened so classes and rehearsals could be held daily, with dancers and teachers and choreographers, all masked.”
‘It was a night that signaled a future alive with possibility’
The show must go on, as they say, and it did during the pandemic—online. “We staged classical ballet pieces and created new neo-classical and modern dance works. Streamed these online with great success. Lectures and workshops were added, in full collaboration with the CCPs Arts Education and its wonderfully innovative programs.”
Content creation continued. Reyes, the National Artist who gave the country such cultural landmark pieces as Itim Asu and Rama Hari, recalled starting over again in the pandemic years and immediately after: “A Filipino Christmas ballet was created by company choreographers, who were all ‘bubbled’ together in my home. Done to Filipino carols and featuring
Christmas regional festivities, the dance, Tuloy ang Pasko, brought everyone to tears at the CCP Main Theater in December 2023, when doors were once again opened to audiences.”
ARDP lost no time in going to the provinces. “The company was launched in Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte, in July 2024, and
we just kept going, inspired by the audiences’ reactions. We toured productions and held dance workshops for teachers, students, choreographers in Dumaguete, Iloilo, Bacolod,
Ormoc in the Visayas, and in Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac and Nueva Ecija in Luzon.”
ARDP performed also in established venues such as at the Metropolitan Theater, at the Rizal Park, at the Malacanang Palace upon the invitation of the First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos.
Alice Reyes Dance Philippines Company takes a bow with artistic director Ronelson Yadao and international guest teacher and choreographer Norman Walker (Photo by Erica Jacinto)
Alice Reyes Dance Philippines with artistic director Ronelson Yadao, rehearsal master Lester Reguindin, and international guest teacher and choreographer Norman Walker
Asked where she and the company are taking ARDP, Reyes said, “ARDP is at heart a vibrant repertory company. But as you mentioned, support is the key to all artistic endeavors. Financial support is the backbone and engine of not just dance culture but all the arts. As we are determined to preserve and share our Filipino dance masterpieces, we need angels and champions from both government and private sources to bring our objectives to fruition. It is a collaboration of a different kind that is not spoken out loud.
Alice Reyes Dance Philippines with students from Sisters of Mary at the post-show Meet and Greet, led by the Foundation benefactor, Charlie Rufino (far right, third row)
“Yet a challenge we welcome.”
Reyes has a defined vision. She said, “The mission is crystal clear. To build a foundation where dancers, choreographers, designers, composers can thrive to contribute to and bolster our evolving cultural heritage.
“ARDP looks forward to the task.”
And so does the whole country—and perhaps even the world.
