Archives for 2013

Pangalay in Earthdance Manila, September 21, 2013

By Rama Marcaida with photos by Levi Azarcon

Experience giving homage to the great Spirit of the universe, honoring the invisible stewards of nature, acknowledging the ancestors with generous offerings like steamed whole chicken, mounds of kakanin, fresh fragrant blooms and green bamboo containers brimming with native brew blessed by a babaylan.

Relish the sweet air wafting with incense and smoke. Feel the space charged with primeval energy through the organic music resounding from skin drums, gongs, bells and bamboo instruments.

Witness ancient dances being performed to purify the space represented by a mandala and join the small community of kindred souls gathering in an unbroken circle hoping and praying for healing, harmony and abundant harvests.

All these may seem part of a tribal ritual in a remote Pacific island from a distant past. But this happened in 2013–on the 21st of September–right in the heart of ultra-modern Bonifacio Global City on the occasion of Earthdance Manila. The ‘island’ where the ritual for the Earth transpired at the urban oasis called the Arts in the City.

There were healing sessions and seminars on health, spiritual philosophies, the art of the traditional Arbolaryo and Hilot and workshop in pangalay dance. Participants set up booths and exhibits  on organic and fresh produce, vegetarian products, intricate jewelry fashioned from discarded materials, practical products recycled from tarpaulin material, mystical crystals and gemstones, books on Asian spirituality and many more.

The AlunAlun Dance Circle’s participation in the Earthdance Manila 2013, through the invitation of festival organizer Ms. Rosanna Escudero, was a way to bridge the past to the present and to connect the sacred to the mundane. What better way to invoke the gods and spirits than through the ancient dance of our forefathers,  for in beauty, one always sees the divine. Every slow gesture and passage of the pangalay articulated the desire of every participant or spectator to be united with the divine. Pangalay dancing allowed spectators to see the dance of their pre-colonial forebears from the Sulu Archipelago.

The AlunAlun dancers there were not mere performers. They became conduits of the gods to mortals– modern day babaylans that keep the tradition alive through every exacting posture and graceful gesticulation, through every undulating movement, like waves ever gently lapping against the shore, and breathing in unison to symbolize wholeness. All these expressed awareness and oneness with Earthdance’s  loftiest sentiment – PEACE!

 

Pangalay and the Ed’l Fitr Celebration at The Block SM Northe Edsa, 10 August 2013
By Rama Marcaida

For two years in a row now the AlunAlun Dance Circle has been invited to celebrate with the  Ed’l Fitr Festival at SM The Block in Quezon City. This year’s performance on 10 August 2013 was a grant from the National Commision on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and sponsorship by the Magbassa Kita Foundation.

The concept of the show is very educational and celebratory, a fitting show for the Eid’l Fitr Festival —  Konsiyerto ng Pangalay, mga sagisag ng ating lahi: AlunAlun Dance Circle popularizes  filipino cultural icons in new choreography. The show was structured around Philippine Cultural Icons, the pangalay being one of them.

 

             In keeping with the ADC tradition, the show began with a dance demonstration entitled ‘What is Pangalay?’ explaining why the dance, that is also called igal by the Sama and paunjalay by the Yakan, is a treasured Philippine intangible cultural heritage.

 

 

 

 

 

The colorful patadyong/patajung  or tubular piece of cloth is indispensable in the everyday life of the people in many parts of the Philippines and Asia.  ADC dancers paraded on stage showing off the numerous ways of using it whether as a cradle, a head protection, a hilt for a sword, a shopping basket, a body garb, a sun shield, a belt, a fashion accessory, and so on.

 

Janggay as a symbol of Philippine dance in a choreography with children dancing the pangalay ha agung.

 

The janggay or metal claws, are interesting finger ornaments in dancing Pangalay. The janggay represents Philippine dance in much the same way as the toe shoe represents Western ballet. It is there an apt Philippine Icon and was chreographed with the young children wearing the janggay gleefully imitating a senior dancer. Then, one by one, they got on top of an agung, a huge knobbed gong, while dancing pangalay. A remarkable sight!

 

The show featured intricately designed Laminusa tepo or banig from the Sulu Archipelago,  vividly-dyed and woven in double layers. The playful chreography revealed a dancer coming out from a  rolled-up mat. Then the mat was laid on stage like a carpet for the female dancer to dance onto.  A second mat became the backdrop of a tariray dancer using bamboo clappers. Then the mats were furled out and waved furiously on stage by two male dancers to simulate how the Badjaw quarrel while out at sea, venting out emotions using the mats.

 

 

The lepa, or Badjaw houseboat,  another vanishing Philippine Icon, was projected on the video wall while a group of male dancers danced the occupational dance called tauti, after children playfully glided as fishes on stage.

 

A collaboration with a group of arnis practitioners was the final number of the show. They demonstrated graceful but ferocious moves as two competent fighters spar on stage.

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, a female sikado practitioner showed stances that looked more of a dance than a martial art. Sikado, a Filipino martial art from the Visayas, was performed in harmony with langka budjang, a martial arts for women in the Sulu Archipelago.

The percussive sounds from the arnis sticks as they hit mounted rubber tires counterpoint with the bula-bula or bamboo clappers. The constant ‘kok-kak, kok-kak’ created by a line of dignified women dressed in black crossing in front of the audience off stage, their regular rhythm contrasting with the outbursts of the arnis, is  a surrealist’s dream come true.

We were enthusiastic to do a pangalay show for the Eid’l Fitr Festival with the Wadi family who hail from the Sulu Archipelago.  The Wadi children and their mother, Joi,  have been dancing with the ADC for more than two years now. Their father, Dean Julkipli Wadi of the UP Institute of Islamic Studies is a kulintangan player himself and an avid supporter of pangalay conservation.

 

Not even the physical condition of our beloved Ligaya Fernando-Amilbangsa could deter her from celebrating Ed’l Fitr. Ligaya danced Igal Kabkab– which is her own original choreography based on the pangalay movement vocabulary–using a flirty fan. She danced the Igal Kabkab  while seated on a wheelchair to show that persons with disabilities can still dance the pangalay. This is during the segment on ukkil that also featured the artworks of first Muslim National Artist   Abdulmari Imao.

Live kulintangan music lent a festive air throughout the show.  As soon as the pangalay performance began, the mall audience became a big crowd as they watched from  five storeys  surrounding  the majestic atrium of the SM The Block.  The show ended with the audience wanting for more.

AlunAlun Dance Circle will always be united with the Filipino Muslim Community  as proven by the Ed’l Fitr celebration year after year.

Filming of ADC Children at Museo Pambata

On 7 May 2013, the children of the AlunAlun Dance Circle went to Museo Pambata Boulevard, Manila to dance pangalay and be documented on film. The project is in cooperation with the NCCA and Museo Pambata, where Ligaya Amilbangsa’s  pangalay silhouettes  depicting various pangalay postures and gestures are displayed at the Karapatan Hall of the children’s museum.

(The dance instructors of theAlunAlun Dance Circleunder the guidance of Ligaya Amilbangsa’s teaching method—the Amilbangsa Instruction Method or AIM, teach pangalay to students from ages 3 to 80 years. Pangalay is a gentle dance style that can be learned by all ages.)

The children who all danced solo atop an agung were Roni Matilac—8 years old, Careema Wadi—7 years old, Hannah Wadi—5 years old. Meanwhile, Gemely Amar, 15, who started pangalay training when she was only 3 years old,  danced the igal kabkab which is an original choreography of pangalay using a fan created by Ligaya Amilbangsa.

The digital film documentation of children dancing pangalay will be part of a film supported by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts in 2013.

The film with the working title of “Pagbabalik sa Tawitawi” traces the journey of Ligaya Amilbangsa in documenting and preserving the traditional dances and related artistic expressions of the Sulu Archipelago from the 1960s until the present. The documentary film is written and directed by Nannette Matilac, ADC Managing Director.

 

Celebrating Pangalay at Malayan Colleges Laguna

 On 8 March 2013, coinciding on International Women’s Day and in post-celebration of the National Arts Month, the students of classes under Prof. Bani Ambion in  the Malayan Colleges Laguna hosted the AlunAlun Dance Circlefor a dance lecture and film showing entitled Celebrating Pangalay  at the Francisco Balagtas Auditorium in the Laguna campus from 10AM to 12 NN.

 

 

 

 

Dean Joy Hofileña who gave an inspirational talk after the opening remarks by Ms. Maria Rovilla stayed through the two-hour celebration to watch the film showing and enjoy the lecture performance.

Dean Joy Hofileña who gave an inspirational talk after the opening remarks by Ms. Maria Rovilla stayed through the two-hour celebration to watch the film showing and enjoy the lecture performance. Preceding the pangalay lecture performance was the film showing of “Sayaw sa Alon”  (Dancing on Waves). Written and directed by Nannette Matilac, the documentary film “Sayaw sa Alon” started in 2005 and was completed in 2008. The film won Best Director and Best Cinematography in the 5^th Moonrise Environmental Film Festival. The film has been shown in Japan as one of the finalist of the 17^th Tokyo Earth Vision Global Environmental Film Festival and was subsequently chosen as one of the Best of Tokyo Earth Vision in 2009.   “Sayaw sa Alon” (Dancing on Waves) is a journey into the life and culture of an endangered people, the Sama Dilaut also known as the Badjao (Bajau), whose cultural demise will be a great loss to humanity itself. Also called sea gypsies, they are one of the ethnic groups inSouthern Philippines wherein  pangalay dance style originates.

Right after the closing credits of the film, ADC dancers Jimo

Angeles, Louanne Mae Calipayan and Nannette Matilac presented a lecture demonstration on the pangalay dance style featuring linggisan (bird dance), tariray (dance with bamboo clappers) and tauti (mimetic dance on catching cat fish).

The film showing and the performance was followed by an open forum  moderated by Ms. Sheryl Hermosa.

 

The Philippine Arts Festival (PAF) opened with pangalay choreographies performed by the AlunAlun Dance Circle to celebrate Philippine Arts Month on 6 February 2013 at the Marikina Riverpark. The  PAF is sponsored by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). The festival is under the supervision of NCCA chairman Felipe de Leon Jr. and executive director Emelita Almosara. The PAF Opening Program  is in cooperation with the City of Marikina and in cooperation with Damlay, Inc. of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Marikina.

The 2013 Philippine Arts Festival promoted icons of Philippine arts. The Opening Ceremony of the PAF began with a pangalay choreography to the choral rendition of “Bituing Marikit.” The pangalay choreography was led by Nannette Matilac featuring the use of the janggay or metal claws.  The janggay is also called saling kuku, sulakengkeng or salukengkeng in the Sulu and Tawitawi provinces. Rama Marcaida with young dancers from various schools also danced in a circular formation much like a sunset ritual.

 

This was followed by a dance suite on three songs by Yoyoy Villame whose iconic songs can also be considered as significant to Philippine folk and pop culture. The pangalay dance movement vocabulary was utilized in interpreting Villame’s “Granada”, “Buchikik” and “Nasaan Ka Darling?”. Despite the whacky rendition of these innovative songs, the pangalay choreography remained faithful to the tradition of pangalay dancing–slow, meditative and defiant of space-time,  relying on rhythm of the breath and not the musical beat.

 Pangalay, also known as igal among the Sama and paunjalay among the Yakan, is an important cultural icon and symbol of our cultural heritage.  Aside from pangalay, other icons of Philippine arts  presented in the PAF are the kundiman and the balagtasan.

Photos by Levi Azarcon

By Louanne Mae Calipayan with photos by Levi Azarcon

Amid festive, distinctly southern décor, the AlunAlun Dance Circle (ADC) heralded the opening of the exhibit entitled Masjid/Mosque: Jewels of the Philippine Islamic Faith held on 5 February 2013 at the historic Museum of  the University of Sto. Tomas (UST).

The National Committee on Architecture and Allied Arts of the NCCA, in partnership with UST Museum, organized the exhibit to showcase Islamic Architecture in the Philippines as  part of the celebration of the Philippine Arts Month.

Among the honored guests who officiated the ribbon-cutting ceremony were NCCA Chair Felipe de Leon, NCCA Commissioner Regalado Jose,  Rep. Fatima Aliah Dimaporo of the 2^nd District of  Lanao Del Norte and Court of Appeals Justice Japar Dimaampao, with Rev. Fr. Isidro C. Abaño, O.P., Director of the UST Museum.

The ADC, represented by dancers Jimo Angeles, Louanne Mae Calipayan, Temay Padero, and Mannex Siapno, performed two consecutive numbers as a prelude to the ribbon-cutting ceremony to formally open the exhibit. The first was a group dance choreographed by Ms. Ligaya Fernando-Amilbangsa, featuring three lengths of cloth with traditional ukkil motifs as the focal point.

The second was a medley of different traditional dances to afford the audience a glimpse into the rich culture of the Sulu Archipelago. During the second number, each dancer briefly performed a dance, then slowly went up the grand staircase, ultimately leading the guests up to the landing where the ribbon-cutting was to take place.

On the 27^thof January, majority of the members of the ADC brought food to share in the sumptuous afternoon of food and Asian dances with kulintangan music.  Among the guests who came were Prof. Filemon Romero from Tawi-Tawi, Prof. Apo Chua from UP Diliman, Jeremy de la Cruz from UP Los Banos and Levi Azarcon of Pangalay Artists Circle.

Jeremy de la Cruz joined the ADC members in dancing basic pangalay postures and gestures especially the figure 8. Then he shared a spontaneous choreography of Javanese and Balinese movements which he learned from his dance training in Indonesia.

 

 

 

Rama Marcaida also performed a Balinese dance to enrich the afternoon of dance and music. The occasion became an instant tertulia.

Even without much ado and planning, there was abundant food for everyone:  vegetarian pancit, soup, sandwiches, puto, mango cake, menudo, pizza and many more.

Satisfied with the sumptuous meal, everyone danced again, not only to burn the calories but also to bring the celebration to a joyous end.

 

Then, as everyone left by early evening, we saw a glorious full moon in the sky to usher an auspicious year ahead.    Happy New Year!

Text and photos by Nannette Matilac