Alice Bassler Sullivan

Alice was born and raised in Alaska and spent her formative years training at age 5 with Mrs. Gretl Benson and Mrs. Doane at the Rhythm School of Dancing on Fireweed Lane. In 1965 she continued her training and performing under the direction of Lynda Lorimer, and in 1967, with Steve Primis. With Anchorage Civic Ballet and Steve Primis’s Academy of Classical Ballet, she was fortunate to perform in many Anchorage Festival of Music concerts, “Nutcrackers” and Anchorage Opera collaborations. Alice began teaching at age 16 for the Conservatory of Dance in Anchorage, Homer and Seward.

She pursued her career in Utah, Washington, New York and Minnesota. Sullivan earned her BFA from the prestigious University of Utah Ballet Department, graduating magna cum laude, and performed with Ballet West while at the U. After graduation, she moved to Seattle for the apprentice program with First Chamber Dance Company, studying with Perry Brunson. In New York City, she studied with Marjorie Mussman and teachers from The Joffrey School on scholarship. In 1977, she joined the Minnesota Ballet, while directing a thriving Ballet program at the University of Minnesota in Duluth. She has also been employed as a ballet accompanist for the University of Utah Ballet Department, the University of Utah Department of Continuing Education and Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, WA. This related skill enabled her to implement and maintain the accompanist program at the School of Alaska Dance Theatre.

Sullivan returned to Alaska in 1982 and led Alaska Dance Theatre to unprecedented achievements as its Founding Artistic Director. As the company grew in stature and prominence, she served as resident choreographer and arranged guest artist artist performers and choreographers for 27 years. Rising above the many highlights are the performance collaborations with live musicians; pianists, WingBeat the full-length program with Pamyua in 1999, and the Yup’ik-inspired ‘One Voice, One Drum” in 2010 inspired by Phillip Blanchett.

Her exceptional skills as an organizer, mentor, teacher and choreographer raised the reputation of ADT to the highest distinction under her leadership. Under her stewardship, ADT received the Mayor’s Youth Arts Award (2004) and the Governor’s Award for Outstanding Arts Organization (2005). In recognition of her outstanding leadership within the community, Ms. Sullivan was named a finalist in the BP Women of Achievement Award (1990), and a finalist in the Athena Award (1996). In 2007, the in- house theatre at the newly built ADT was named the Alice Bassler Sullivan Theatre to honor her legacy. Sullivan was awarded the Lorene Harrison Lifetime Achievement Award by the Mayor’s Arts Awards in 2010. Ms. Sullivan was also honored with a Rasmuson Individual Artist award in 2013.

In 1992 she brought the ADT Company to Magadan, Russia to perform as part of Anchorage’s sister city cultural exchange. In 1996 she attended the David Howard Teachers Seminar, in 1998 she taught in Guiyang, China, and in the summer of 2006, she attended the Pacific Northwest Ballet School’s Teachers Seminar led by Artistic Director Peter Boal, and PNB School faculty.

Alice has devoted over fifty years to her career as performer, teacher, choreographer, and arts administrator. She has groomed and mentored many dancers who have joined prestigious programs and dance companies including Bat Dor Co. of Israel, Mark Morris Dance Co., Complexions, Ballet Noir, David Parsons Dance Co., Dayton Ballet, Tricia Brown, Dallas Contemporary Dance Co, Moving Out, Radio City Rockettes, Royal Caribbean Intern’l, PGT Ent., Amy Marshal Dance Co, California Ballet, Ririe- Woodbury Dance Co., among others.

Since leaving ADT in June 2009, she has instructed or choreographed for many programs in Anchorage and around the state as director of Alice Bassler Sullivan DanceArts Alaska, including; the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, the UAA Department of Theatre and Dance, Studio Pulse, Pulse Dance Company, The Alaska Club Eagle River, and as guest instructor for the Anchorage Classical Ballet Academy.

In September of 2011 she founded Eagle River Ballet, and in 2021, she passed the helm to Heather Canterbury McEwen, who had helped Sullivan grow the studio from its infancy. New projects, guest teaching, workshops, consulting, and private clients are keeping her dance card full. She is grateful to her family for their unfailing support, and to all the dancers, colleagues, students, musicians, choreographers, and designers who have shaped her career as artist and educator.