My Blog

MA. ALEXANDRA "SANDY" HONTIVEROS
Executive Director
Ballet Philippines

The Nuns at St. Scholastica’s College, Manila literally set the stage for me with my first public performance at the ripe young age of 5. Several years of school productions and Hawaiian-tahitian lessons later, I learned about the Summer Dance Workshops at the CCP and immediately took classes under Alice Reyes, Tony Fabella, Eddie Elejar, Denisa Reyes and Gener Caringal, among others.

After a 2-year world tour with Fiesta Filipina, I joined the Tony Fabella Jazz group, the weekly Penthouse 7 television dance show, 3 command performances for Morocco’s King Hassan, co-founded and danced with Hotlegs and eventually moved on to other areas of television and stage production.

Holding office at the CCP with Ballet Philippines is like coming home for me and I hope that my roots with the company, my experience with “commercial” dance companies (although Ballet teacher Eddie Elejar teasingly referred to it as “Cabaret” dancing when I refused to move into my pointe shoes to switch to jazz dancing) and my hands-on knowledge of production will allow me to contribute positively to this constantly evolving pillar of dance.

Ballet Philippines is an old company that will always stay young, with the limitless resource of talent and energy that our dance school turns out year after year and the constant “coming home” of other former members and students like Bam and myself. I believe it’s my turn to give back, to pitch in and help keep this a home that will continue to nurture and prepare artists who will eventually spread their wings and yet want to come home and pass on the blessings they have received.