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The AlunAlun Dance Circle performed for the 60th Anniversary Celebration of French-Philippine Relations (1947-2007)
By Nannette Matilac

To dance in Paris is an exciting dream, for it is said that “the whole world sings and dances in Paris.” But to dance a little-known Philippine dance called pangalay in Paris is more than a fulfilled dream. It is a provocative cause to promote good faith between two peoples and two nations in celebrating the 60th Anniversary of Franco-Philippine relations.

On 27 June 1947, the Philippines and France signed the Treaty of Amity in Paris that established diplomatic relations between two countries with intersecting historical and cultural paths. As far back as the 1500s, 15 Frenchmen among Ferdinand Magellan’s crew already came to the archipelago. By the early 1800s, a French community settled in Jala-jala and French traders already did good business exporting Paris fashion and goods to Manila while importing our indigo. Of course, the greatest contribution of France lay in its revolutionary history and libertarian ideals that inspired Filipino heroes like Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio and Emilio Jacinto.

But do you know that in May 1828, French navigator and geographer Dumont d’llrville visited Jolo and offered gifts to the Sultan of Sulu? I imagine he was beguiled by the beauty of the Sulu Archipelago with its majestic seascape, colorful traditions and exquisite arts as evidenced by the pangalay dance style. Pangalay is a pre-Islamic dance style related to the classical dances of Cambodia, Thailand, Japan and other Asian countries.

With such a rich heritage behind it, dancing pangalay is a boon to international relations. It was Ambassador Jose Abeto Zaide, Philippine ambassador to France, who worked for promoting diplomacy through pangalay. Having seen the AlunAlun Dance Circle perform 2 years ago at the Ateneo de Manila, the ambassador professed, “This is the group I must bring to Paris.” The ambassador sought help from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), Zuellig Group of Companies and the Dome X’Pats Group. And then…

Bonjour, Paris!

From 8 June to 3 July 2007, I danced pangalay in France with my teacher and choreographer Ligaya Fernando-Amilbangsa; fellow dancers Louanne Mae Calipayan, Joy Grace Ricote, Rama Marcaida, Mahail Hajan and Trini Derbesse; stage manager Perry Dizon; and photographer Richard “Bahaghari” de Guzman. During our stay, the AlunAlun Dance Circle also conducted dance workshops among Filipinos at the Philippine embassy. We performed in 7 different venues: the Philippine Embassy, Paris’ new Quai Branly Museum, the Ambassador’s residence, the Maison des Cultures du Monde (Institute for World Cultures), the Maison de l’UNESCO-Grand Auditorium, the Pistang Pilipino in Stade de la Muette and the Eglise Saint Severin.

In almost all performances, the show began with a French narration of “What is Pangalay?” The lucid translation by French Filipino Trini Evangelista-Derbesse endeared us to French-speaking audiences. The pure narration with no music was animated by seamless movements as dancers flow from one gesture to the next wearing colorful and authentic costumes of the Sulu Archipelago.

The dance-narration prepared the audience for the succeeding pangalay choreographies –sassy in “La Vie en Rose,” wacky in Yoyoy Villame Suite (“Granda,” “Butsikik,” “Mag-exercise Tayo,” among others), somber and majestic in “Stillness in Motion” (with original music by Isha Abubakar).

At the UNESCO Auditorium on 27 June 2007, the international audience was regaled by the creative collaboration of the AlunAlun Dance Circle and the Philippine Madrigal Singers. We performed innovative dance compositions to the Madrigal Singers’ touching renditions of “Importance of A Rose,” Yanni’s Aria from “Flower Duet” and Gary Granada’s “Tagumpay Nating Lahat.” The latter’s choreography creatively utilized two long cloths representing the banners of France and Philippines joining together with the number 60 in between, replicating the 60th anniversary logo.

By the end of our Parisian adventure, we were filled not just with memories of celebrated performances, but also with experiences so telling of the good faith between French and Filipinos: like Ligaya catching pneumonia but still dancing out of sheer commitment; Mahail collapsing with near-death experience at the Arch of Triumph and treated wonderfully by the French ICU staff; and myself getting lost in a deserted train station at 2:30 a.m. and escorted home by a French stranger.

We will always remember the rare opportunity of sharing pangalay with Pinoys in Paris. They made us feel at home in France, sharing with us their homes, their lives and their cooking. It was a great privilege to dance for them. Majority of our audience were OFWs who clean houses and look after children or aged citizens of French families. I learned that in France, having a Pinoy as housekeeper or nanny is quite a status symbol.

Thus, I realize that one of the essential meanings of the 60th Anniversary of Franco-Philippine relations is what Pinoys make of Paris. I think the city of lights is a better place with Filipinos around.

[The writer is the managing director of the AlunAlun Dance Circle, a dance group dedicated to the conservation and popularization of the pangalay.

Pangalay Dance Performances and Workshops in Paris, France
to Celebrate the
60th Year Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations
between the Philippines and France
June –July 2007

The AlunAlun Dance Circle performs in a series of goodwill performances to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of Franco-Philippine Relations

June 12, 8pm
Independence Day soiree at the Embassy

June 13, 1030am
ASEAN Ladies Circle dance/lecture at the Ambassador’s residence (20 minutes)

June 14, 730pm
Performance at Musee du Quai Branly for book launch of Museum Treasures of Southeast Asia

June 16, 8pm
Film showing, “Memories of the Sea” written and directed by Nannette Matilac, about the plight if the Badjaw refugees in Metro Manila; followed by discussions, dancing and jamming; the activity is sponsored by the Muslim Association

June 17, 3-6pm
Dance workshop at Embassy

June 23, 8pm
Lecture/Performance at Maison des Cultures du Monde (full show)

June 27, 8pm
Performance at UNESCO
The AlunAlun Dance Circle performs with the Madrigal Singers. The finale presents the artistic collaboration of the two performing groups.

July 1, 11am
Performance at Pista sa Paris

Click here for additional Information

Shall We Dance?
Asian “dance summit” evokes dreams of pangalay diplomacy

That’s what we did for three exhilarating days–dance to gongs, drums, and kulintangan–as we joined hearts and minds with our Asian neighbors in the magic of dance. Nothing equals the joy, warmth, good-will, understanding, compassion, and instant friendship that dancing together can bring.

At the first-ever International Conference on the Conservation and Popularization of Pangalay and Related Asian Dance Cultures, held on Feb. 8 to 10 at the Riverbend Hotel in Marikina City, Cambodians, Indonesians, Thais, Malaysians, Japanese and Filipinos moved to the same beat, sans the directive of any government official or diplomat.

The conference was organized by the AlunAlun Dance Circle which propagates pangalay, the traditional dance which took root in Tau Sug communities in pre-Islamic and pre-Christian times. “Pangalay is our most truly Philippine dance because it antedates the other influences that shaped our culture. It is pre-everything!” stresses Ligaya Fernando-Amilbangsa, 65, the foremost proponent and performer of the dance today.

Its striking resemblance to the Asian dances demonstrated at the conference with their accompanying percussive music points to the mother culture of India as common source. Hindu and Buddhist influences are apparent in the gentle gestures and linguistic borrowings that still linger in our intangible culture. Pangalay in Sanskrit means “temple of dance” and is related to “offering” as in our Philippine word alay.

“We want to feel our cultural links with our Asian neighbors and strengthen our sense of identity through the powerful soul connection of dance,” explains conference director Dr. Maria Teresa Sicat with smiling eyes. A retired UP English professor and former Dean of Humanities of the Central Colleges of the Philippines, she has been dancing with the AlunAlun Dance circle for six years now. In a charming talk, she shared her experience of coming under Amilbangsa’s tutelage at age 60. “I have never felt more Asian and more Pinoy than when I started dancing the pangalay,” she attests.

The slow, flowing, meditative dance, performed with intricate hand movements and mincing and shuffling steps, has obvious relationships to Thai and Cambodian classical dance, Javanese wayang wong, and the different types of Okinawan traditional dance collectively known as Ryukyu Buyo. Traditonal martial arts (pencak silat) in the various Asian societies, including our Sulu archipelago, are also undeniably of one family, as are the dance forms that evolved from them.

When we were not dancing we were talking about dance. The perfectly-balanced conference interspersed entrancing dance demonstrations with scholarly papers on dance research and sharing of problems in dance conservation by such eminent academicians as Prof. Esteban Basilio Villaruz, head of the Dance Program of the UP College of Music, and Prof. Mohd Anis Md. Nor of the Cultural Centre, University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur.

Intense attentiveness to the lectures, lively discussions during the open forum, and eager interaction during coffee breaks, indicated the great thirst for new inspiration among the 170 choreographers, dancers, dance students, dance troupe leaders, P.E. teachers, and school administrators who were fortunate enough to have gotten wind of the trail-blazing conference held in an unassuming corner of the metropolis. They came from all over the islands, from the Cordilleras to Zamboanga, seeking re-animation for their craft and mission, and they were touched by the unifying spirit of pangalay.

How to make Filipinos, especially the youth, love their culture and their country through the art of dance was their task as much as learning the dance for their own self-development. Their soaring enthusiasm culminated on the last day in group plans reported through dance for the propagation of pangalay , which Prof. Villaruz described in his book Treading Through 45 Years of Philippine Dance (UP Press, launched again at the conference) as the closest thing we have to a classical dance.

The moving spirit behind the event, and its undisputed “star”, was Ligaya Amilbangsa, whose delicate features and slight figure belie the dynamo of passion that she is when it comes to Philippine traditional dance. She fell in love with the dance during her years in Tawi-tawi as the young bride of Datu Punjungan Amilbangsa (her classmate at FEU), and has devoted more than 30 yrs of her life to mastering and teaching it.

A highlight of the conference was Amilbangsa’s sharing of her AIM (Amilbangsa Instruction Method) using the original stick drawings she devised decades ago as memory guide. Basic instruction begins with breath training along with hands and arms making a figure 8, the cosmological symbol for infinity. These progress to more complex finger contacts, flicking and flipping, also distinctive features of other Asian dance forms, in which they have even more intricate and subtle variations (mudras) and specific meanings.

No one can fail to be captivated by the soft elegance of the pangalay as performed by Amilbangsa. Clearly in her element among the other Asian performers, she displayed a wide repertoire with not a hint of fatigue, leaping and clapping in langka-silat (martial dance), fluttering and swaying in linggisan (bird dance), hopping and skipping with bulah-bulah (clappers) in tariray. The foreign guests, virtuosos themselves, were in obvious awe of her, and every participant wished to dance like her.

Amilbangsa recounted the start of her solitary journey with pangalay in the 1970’s when no one seemed to value it as part of our intangible cultural heritage. Disheartened by her failure to gain support despite offering free lessons, she went into hiatus for 17 years until Nannette Matilac of PETA (Philippine Educational Theater Association) tracked her down in 1997 for an interview. The two have closely collaborated since 1999 in forming the AlunAlun Dance Circle, which nurtures pangalay devotees in Sunday lessons at Amilbangsa’s studio in Antipolo.

The importance of having a system for passing on such an ephemeral art form even in its place of origin was poignantly brought to the fore by Prof. Mahail Hadjan, Head of the P.E. Department of Mindanao State University College of Technology and Oceanography. Leader of the Tambuli Cultural Troupe founded by Amilbangsa in 1974, and still an agile performer, he confirmed that in Tawi-tawi communities today, pangalay is overshadowed by pop culture imbibed through mass media. Were it not for Amilbangsa’s documentation and conservation efforts, he said, pangalay would have become extinct.

A meticulous scholar besides being a riveting performer, Amilbangsa has written two landmark books on Sulu archipelago culture, Pangalay, published by Ayala Museum in 1983, and Ukkil, published by the Ateneo University Press last year. “Pangalay is dying in its cradle,” Amilbangsa and Hadjan lament. Video footages taken by Nannette Matilac in neighboring Malaysia showed children doing the ocho-ocho with pangalay hand movements– which would have been amusing were it not so culturally tragic.

Yet Amilbangsa’s group insists pangalay is not to be viewed as a rigid artifact, for the very nature of dance is that it is constantly evolving in time and space. At birthdays, anniversaries, book-launchings, and NGO gatherings, AlunAlun has performed pangalay to classical, folk, and western and local pop music. “For it to remain alive, it must be kept versatile and adaptable. First, one must master its vocabulary, then one can create and improvise,” Amilbangsa points out.

What about tinikling, itik-itik, maglalatik, and all that we know as “folk dance”? Peter Paul de Guzman, Fil-Am dance teacher of Culture Philippines Folk Arts in Los Angeles, provided some clues in his talk. To Filipinos abroad, engagement with Philippine culture and its conservation is a living issue, he said. Whereas the generation of his parents copied the dance productions of the touring troupes like Bayanihan and the Ramon Obusan Dance Troupe, young Fil-Ams today want to define their “Filipinicity” by drinking from the source–Inang Bayan. De Guzman, 26, already an accomplished performer who would do us proud in any international production, is now learning pangalay with Amilbangsa.

To keep pangalay alive for future generations, everybody agreed, we must simply keep dancing it. And so we did.

High energy filled the hall in jamming of the most elevated kind: Mr. Sukarji Sriman of the University of Malaya, in full traditional Javanese costume, led the dance to appreciative cheers. He was followed by handsome Minangkabau martial arts-dance master Mr. Indra Utama of the Indonesian Arts Academy of West Sumatra. Ms. Kazue Higa, who had danced in Okinawan costume on Day One of the conference with her colleague Ms. Takana Kojima of the Research Institute of Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts, took to the floor in her blue jeans. They were gamely joined by Mr. Ben Suzuki, affable director of the Japan Foundation in Manila (the main sponsor of the conference) who graced all three days of the conference with his active presence.

In glides Ligaya Amilbangsa with the undulating arm movements, serene demeanor, and downcast eyes of pangalay, and though the kinetic energy doesn’t diminish, a kind of hush descends at the sight of her, breath-taking despite her being in street clothes. The future tugs at us, symbolized by two cherub-faced boys and a gifted young dancer (Chloe Bernardo of the Makiling High School for the Arts), all lovingly trained in the art by Amilbangsa. To them we must bequeath all the beauty and grace of the Pinoy soul as embodied in pangalay.

It is a dance that we can learn while very young, and continue dancing with dignity until we are wizened and white-haired. It is a dance that we can do from our loob with our Mindanao brothers and sisters, as well as with our kababayan abroad. It is a dance that could connect us with our own leaders–were they to dance it with us. It is a dance that returns us to Asia; it is a dance we can share with the world. It is a dance to bring us home to our true selves.

Invitation to all interested

February 8-10, 2007

The AlunAlun Dance Circle and the Japan Foundation Manila Office in partnership with Marikina City and NCCA and UNESCO Philippines invites you to the International Conference on the Conservation and Popularization of Pangalay and Related Asian Dance Cultures.

Your participation is important to make this first intellectual exchange conference on the conservation of traditional Filipino dance and other Asian dances a success.

Pangalay is a dance style from Southern Philippines that bears closest affinity to other classical dance forms in Southeast Asia. The conference will discuss issues like:

1. Dance Conservation and the Migration of Traditional Dance Forms across Regional, National / and/or International Boundaries;
2. Traditional / Classical Asian Dance Forms: Hybridization, Reconceptualization or Innovation;
3. Global Prospect for Borrowing and Collaboration:
4. Exchange, Change and Circulation (or Popularization) [Note: registration fees of official participants from Marikina City will be subsidized ]

We await your response at the following:

Email: AlunAlun.Dance.Circle@gmail.com
Facsimile: (632)-645 8294
Mailing Address: AlunAlun Dance Circle
13 J.P. Rizal Street
Calumpang, Marikina City 1081, PHILIPPINES

Through the recognition and appreciation of our kinship witnessed by dance throughout Southeast Asia, not only do we progress towards excellence in our respective fields of dance and culture, but also we affirm the links established by our ancestors and resolve to live in mutual understanding and peace.

(Signed) Maria Teresa M. Sicat, Ph.D.
Project Director
International Dance Conference
on the Conservation of Pangalay
and Related Asian Dances

Taipei, Taiwan Nov 30 – Dec 3, 2006
by Trinita Evangelista-Derbesse

“ This dance should be shown all over the world ! ”, insisted an elderly Taiwanese. “ How do you manage to achieve that light, springing up-and-down movement of your dance ? ”, queried another. “Those downcast eyes, do they signify anything ? ”, “ How is the sawwal ( ) worn and what are the uses of the siyag ? ” ( ), AlunAlun (big waves) really befits your troupe ! ”. Another admirer butted in, “ Ligaya, you have been dancing for some decades now, look how fantastic a dancer you continue to be ! ” Awed by the very subtle and slow movements of Pangalay, these were some of the questions and comments raised by an enthralled audience in the open forum that concluded the Pangalay performance of the Alun-Alun Dance Circle at the recent 4th Asian Performing Arts Festival, held in Taipei from 29 November to 3 December.
It was in the spirit of promoting mutual understanding through city-to-city exchanges that the Asian Network of Major Cities 21 (ANMC21) was founded in Tokyo in 2001. Under the auspices of the ANMC21, whose aim is to transcend differences and bring together the energies of Asia’s major cities to address urban problems and economic and cultural issues, the Festival featured exhibition booths for each participating city at the Main Lobby of the very state-of-the-art Metropolitan Hall, Taipei’s cultural centre for the performing arts. Its major cultural event this year was the 4th edition of the Asian Performing Arts Festival, hosted this year by Taipei which brought together artists and dance performers from New Delhi, Manila, Seoul, Taipei and Tokyo. Marikina City, the shoe-manufacturing capital of the Philippines was featured in the Manila booth. Diverse magazines, pamphlets, brochures and other valuable information on present and future projects of the City were distributed to enthusiastic visitors. The AlunAlun Dance Circle was invited to represent Manila in the above Festival.

At this occasion, Marikina City, representing Manila, invited t
Led by its artistic director and choreographer, Pangalay guru Ligaya Fernando-Amilbangsa the AlunAlun Dance Circle arrived in a post-stormy Taipei (winds were heading for the Philippines as we arrived) on 29 November 2006. ADC’s first show at the Metropolitan Hall, Offering opened with an annotated introduction on “ What is pangalay ? ”, which transported the audience into the realm and spirit of Tawitawi (Sulu Archipelago) in dramatic vignettes of mundane pursuits at home, at work and at play in basic pangalay movements. Eliciting sighs of awe and wonder from the audience, Stillness in Motion, (Part II), is an innovative choreography with emphasis on style and expression. It recalls the spirit of zen in its minimalist and tranquil manner on the one hand and on the other, abstract and surrealist in the use of masks and hand puppets. In the recurrent mystico-lyrical melodic pattern of its music composed by Pearlsha Abubakar, one is mesmerized by the perfect complementarity of music and dance evoking ‘ motion in stillness, stillness in motion’.

Shoeperb-Superb ! Pangalay ng Bayan : Dance of the People, a show conceived on a different register was ADC’s performance on closing day showcasing traditional pangalay variations, followed by a series of ballet, jazz, tap, ballroom music & dance interspersed with pangalay movements and performed with appropriate Marikina-made footwear. The finale was a celebration of Filipino kundimans and the Philippine spirit of Christmas. Presented on a Sunday matinee, it entertained families and children that filled the theatre.

The interaction between the different Asian cultural groups in performance and workshops seems to have come at an opportune time, thus paving the way for future cultural exchanges. It should be noted that the AlunAlun Dance Circle will hold an International Conference on the Conservation and Popularization of Pangalay and Related Asian Dance Cultures, to be held in Marikina City from 7-11 February 2007 . This recent trip offered a learning experience as well as new-found Asian colleagues in the field of the performing arts.

As the Festival came to a successful close, the ritual of parting seemed as abrupt as the December chill that slowly crept in – a storm was in the news ! As a token of gratitude and in a very oriental manner, AlunAlun celebrated the birthday of their kind and able British-educated guide Baiyi (in Chinese “ 100 manners ” that is, you are expected to play every role you have to play in life very well) with a Chinese lauriat at a trendy restaurant in downtown Taipei, close to our hotel. It was also a farewell tribute to our host country which we had begun to admire for its friendly people, sense of respect, order, and punctuality in the conduct of its daily affairs. Surprisingly, the City had managed to retain a distinctive Chinese ambience amidst modernity and prosperity. As they boarded the ‘pink peoneyed’ China Airlines (emblem of Taiwan) on December 4, the thoughts of the Philippine dance troupe was filled with fresh memories that ranged from the mystical Lungshan Temple in its multi-layered architectural splendor to the National Palace Museum , niched on the slopes of a mountain, which, at the slightest hint of mist or fog recalls a Chinese landscape painting. Some magic, fun moments of a performing group on tour was not exempted. Imagine how a tall glass of fresh durian juice is shared eagerly by four distinguished-ladies-of- the- troupe-turned-tourists at the Shilin Open Night Market., or coming home late at night with tons of new stage costumes and accessories ransacked from the remotest corners of an oriental clothes bazar by our impassioned and committed ADC mentors. The initial intention was, of course, just to see how a typical Chinese open market looked like ! Back at the theatre, one unforgettable incident backstage during the ADC performance was the stage technicians mimicking the curled wrists and hands in the inward-outward unfolding movement of Pangalay. The difficult mincing footwork amused everyone but it looked more difficult to imitate ! With this successful maiden trip outside the country there is no doubt that AlunAlun Dance Circle emerged reinvigorated. It left Taipei with several invitations for future collaboration from the different participants, enchanted not only with the beautiful indigenous dance but all the more intrigued by the solemn and spiritual meaning of Pangalay, which in Sanskrit is temple of dance.