That dance is life must surely be the motto of ballet dancers. They devote countless hours to perfect a hand gesture, an extended leg, or a hair toss, much like the way the members of Alice Reyes Dance Philippines (ARDP) do. In fact, the ARDP dancers are busy rehearsing—eight hours every day—the choreography of the...
Tag: ballet
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There’s more than dance in ‘Juan Tamad’ by Alice Reyes Dance Philippines
Near the rear of the Metropolitan Theater as you turn left from Dr. Basa Street in Ermita, Manila, there’s a long, wide studio with open windows facing a wall of mirrors. The dancers of Alice Reyes Dance Philippines (ARDP) are trying on their animal costumes for the first time. Krislynne Buri, playing Paboreal (peacock), gets...
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The heritage house, the choreographer, and the ballet
Archivist Purissima “Petty” Benitez-Johannot and her team have been looking after Helena’s house, cataloguing its contents since 2018. The house on Mariposa, Qùezon City, is MiraNila, ancestral home of the Benitez family; Helena is Helena Z. Benitez—educator, former senator, and founder of the Bayanihan Philippine Dance Company of the Philippine Women’s University (PWU). Helena was...