The program is highlighted by the company premiere of Alvin Ailey’s acclaimed "Night Creature," the premieres of Max Luna III’s "Mga Awit" and "The Hurt We Embrace" and Alan Hineline’s "Thresholds II."

First staged in 1974 for his own company, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, this internationally acclaimed work has been described by the New York Times as "One of Mr. Ailey’s happiest works. It has a joyful pulse, a sophisticated entente with its sophisticated music that carries on the best of the Ellington tradition." The inclusion ofNight Creature in this season’s program was a natural choice. Artistic director Max Luna III’s involvement with the Alvin Ailey organization as dancer, choreographer and teacher spans a period of over 20 years. The work was restaged in Manila for Ballet Philippines by BP alumna and former Alvin Ailey principal dancer, Elizabeth Roxas-Dobrish and is set to the music by American jazz music legend, Duke Ellington.

In keeping with the artistic directors’ strong belief in the importance of live music and keen desire to reintroduce it to the BP audience, Max Luna III’s Mga Awit will be performed live. Luna uses Filipino composer Michael Dadap’s stunning trio for tenor, cello and piano, "Mga Awit ng Pag-ibig," as a source of inspiration to explore the complex world of male camaraderie. Mga Awit features 12 male BP dancers in an athletic, sensitive and masculine exploration of the Luna/Dadap work.

In a recent interview, Luna described his work, The Hurt We Embrace, as a depiction of the treatment of women in mid-twentieth century Filipino society. The work, a duet for a male and female couple, explores the complexities and vagaries of their relationship. This was originally created for Elizabeth Roxas-Dobrish, honorary gala chair of this year’s New Beginnings gala, and premiered for his own company, LUNA.

Artistic Director Alan Hineline has collaborated with U.S. composer Jerome Begin to create Thresholds II. The ballet and score were originally commissioned and premiered by the Dayton Ballet in March of 2008, prior to Hineline’s arrival in the Philippines to assume duties at helm of BP. Collaborators for many years, Thresholds II is the eighth in a series of works by the two artists. Over the years, the process of making new work together has evolved into collaboration in the truest sense of the word – an on-the-spot pairing of music and dance which ties the music directly to the choreography.

Critics have said "Hineline successfully integrates classical ballet with contemporary dance movement in a way that encourages one to view both styles anew. He propels the dancers through space on pointe one second, but in the next moment, is just as likely to have them turn by pivoting on their heels, jutting their hips out to the side."