n the months leading up to March 2020, Ballet Philippines’ founder and National Artist for Dance Alice Reyes, along with the company of dancers, were well into rehearsals for the culminating performance of the season marking the Golden Anniversary of Ballet Philippines. Two years prior, the company’s President of the Board of Trustees, Margarita Moran-Floirendo, had cajoled Reyes out of retirement in New York City, where she was enjoying the life of a satisfied chilled-out grandma, to lead the company through a two-year retrospective of the company’s original works. Together with Ryan Cayabyab, National Artist for Music, composer of the score for , Reyes had auditioned current musical theatre stars and pop
