Youth Participation in Art and Cultural Heritage to Develop National Pride

TOTAL NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS AND AUDIENCE: 3000, majority were from Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Marikina; other participants were teachers from DepEd, selected elementary students, cultural workers of Marikina City, and students from other colleges

VENUE

The seminar was held at the Teatro Marikina, 89 Shoe Avenue, Marikina City. It is the best location due to its proximity to the target audience.

The Youth Seminar at the Teatro Marikina, here with guest youth performers: UP Tugma (UP College of Music) as musicians and Kalumpang Elementary school students

FUN AND PARTICIPATORY

The seminar-workshop was conceptualized to be: fun, interactive, arts- and performance-oriented, and enlightening. Performing groups were the AlunAlun Dance Circle, Marikina Dance Guild, Batlaya Theater Group, Kalumpang Elementary School students, Young Focus streetchildren, among others.

ADC Staff and dance trainers Mannex Siapno, Joy Ricote, Lyn Literal with their pangalay students who are also members of the Marikina Dance Guild. This is at the lobby of the Teatro Marikina just before their performance of pangalay in the Youth Seminar.

THE SEMINAR-WORKSHOP IN PICTORIAL NARRATIVE:

21 November 2017, Tuesday (Day 1)

Opening Activities after the Registration: National Anthem, Prayer, and Speech by the Marikina Mayor’s representative.

Introduction:

Why Young People Should Participate in Philippine Art and Culture
By ADC President: Cecilia B. Garrucho

Sana ay mapukaw din ng ating mga diskusyon ang inyong pagkamalikhain—sigurado akong kayang-kaya nyong gumawa ng mga memes, vines, blogs, at vlogs tungkol sa ating kultura, na mas magiging interesante sa bagong henerasyon!

– CB Garrucho

Performance:

The inspirational talk by Cecilia B. Garrucho was capped by a new and original choreography by ADC, “Bayan Ko,” which was first sung by Atang de la Rama—later a National Artist for Theater—mainly for the underprivileged classes in the 1920s.

Music by Constancio de Guzman and lyrics by Jose Corazon de Jesus, the rendition was sung by a foreign choral group to show how this nationalistic song is likewise appreciated by foreign cultures.

Introduction to Philippines Cinema, Performance: Dances in Philippine Movies

Marikina Dance Guild performed dances in Philippine movies as a prelude to the talk and discussion on Philippine Cinema.

2nd Lecture-Discussion:  10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

The Role of Philippine Cinema and Film Artists in Shaping the Nation and Filipino Identity, with Focus on the Current Situation and Issues in the 21st Century

Lecturer-facilitator:

PROF. PATRICK F. CAMPOS

He is an assistant professor at the University of the Philippines (UP) Film Institute, the director of the Office of Research of the UP College of Mass Communication, and a member of the cinema committee of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Philippines. He is a coauthor of Communication and Media Theories (2014), and the author of From Cave to Cloud (2016) and The End of National Cinema: Filipino Film at the Turn of the Century (2016).

Afternoon session on the first day

Performance:

Parade of costumes and material culture as visual expression by the AlunAlun Dance Circle and Marikina Dance Guild

3rd Lecture-Discussion: 1:30-3:30 pm

Artists and their Artworks that Helped Build Filipino Identity and a Sense of Nationhood

Lecturer-facilitator: DR. ROBERTO G. PAULINO

He is an associate professor at the Department of Art Studies, College of Arts and Letters in UP Diliman, where he also obtained his doctorate degree in Philippine Studies. He is the recipient of the Washington Sycip Award for Best General Education Learning Material conferred by the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs, University of the Philippines. He is coauthor of The Life and Art of Botong Francisco, 2009.

Dr. Paulino engaged the participants with insights about major art works in Philippine visual arts which date back in precolonial times.

Closing Performance on the 1st day:  New Pangalay Choreography performed by Students from Kalumpang Elementary School

The girls of Kalumpang Elementary School performed a new choreography, an original composed and sung by Ryan Caybyab, “Kumukuti-kutitap.” The lively Christmas song is choreographed using the pangalay movement vocabulary. Dancers wear the janggay or metal claws. Teacher Mannex Siapno dances with members of Kalumpang Elementary School (KES), “Kumukuti-kutitap” as a pre-Christmas, happy dance number.

Some members of the Marikina Dance Guild joined the KES children at the finale of the song—a colorful and festive ending for the first say of the youth seminar.

27 November 2017, Monday (Day 2)

1st Lecture: 9:00-10:30 am   

Spoken Word as a Literary Form of the Filipino Youth

Featured Artists:   WORDS ANONYMOUS

Henry Igna and Louise Meets of Words Anonymous gave their talk about spoken word with their own theatrical performances.  Then after their lecture about spoken word, they encouraged participants to create their own spoken word pieces through some writing exercises. The facilitators were impressed with the rich sharing of spoken word creations by the audience. The workshop ended with a performance of the lecturers.

Intermission and Introduction to the Second Session:

To introduce the next lecture on Philippine Music was a performance of Langka Silat by Boys from KES boys and Young Focus. Arafa Biste of AlunAlun danced with his trainees in Langka Silat, a martial art tradition. Gloc 9’s “The Bobo Song” was performed by boys of Kalumpang Elementary School and out-of-school boys of Young Focus who are either streetchildren or scavengers of the dumpsite in Tondo, Manila.

2nd Session in Day 2: 10:40 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.   

Mula Noon Hanggang sa Ika-21 Siglo: Ang Makapangyarihang Papel ng mga Musikero at ang Kanilang Musika para sa Pagbabago ng Lipunang Pilipino

Lecturer-facilitator: Prof. ARWIN Q. TAN

He studied choral conducting and musicology at the University of the Philippines, College of Music, and graduated magna cum laude of class 2000. He is an assistant professor at the UP College of Music under the Department of Musicology. Prof. Tan is the founder and choirmaster of the multi-awarded Novo Concertante Manila. He was given an Ani ng Dangal award by the NCCA in 2012.

Prof. Tan’s lecture-demonstration focused on the beauty and complexity of indigenous music in the Northern and Southern Philippines. He underlined the importance of music in the lives of Filipinos – in healing, in preparing for war, in celebrations, in all aspects of life. The participants had a chance to play musical instruments and follow the local rhythms of the indigenous peoples.  He ended by teaching the melody of an indigenous song and instructing about round singing of a Cordillera folk song.

LUNCH BREAK

Introduction to the Session on Philippine Architecture: A Drama Performance

Dramatization:

Beginnings of River Settlements by the Marikina River up to the Birth of the Shoe Industry (from Jesus dela Peña Church to Kapitan Moy Heritage House) by the Batlaya Theater Guild of Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Marikina

Below: A scene from the theater presentation about the evolution of community settlements in Marikina.

3rd Lecture-Discussion  1:45 – 3:30 pm

Protecting Architectural Heritage as the Symbol of the People’s Culture and Identity

Lecturer-Facilitator: EDGAR ALLAN M. SEMBRANO

A passionate cultural heritage advocate, he obtained a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines in 2004. He is a regular contributor in the Lifestyle section of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, writing on cultural heritage and the arts. He is a Master of Arts candidate of the Cultural Heritage Studies program of the University of Santo Tomas Graduate School and the associate editor of the Architecture Volume of the CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art, second edition.

Mr. Sembrano explained the criteria in determining the significance of built structures and natural sites with some information about controversial issues. He discussed the various challenges and causes of destruction of heritage sites such as natural causes like disasters and man-made causes like over-tourism, over-development, and big business. To make the participants understand the significance of Philippine architectural design, he asked a group of students to build a modular puzzle modelled after the Maranao torogan, with some time pressure.

Mr. Sembrano gave importance to heritage conservation and how the community achieves sustainable development for its own people.

28 November 2017, Tuesday (Day 3)

Performance to introduce the session on Philippine Theater:

Tawti (a mimetic dance on fishing) performed by the male dancers of Marikina Theater Guild who were trained by the AlunAlun Dance Circle

Live kulintangan ensemble music by UP Tugma (College of Music)

Male dancers of Marikina Dance Guild performs Tauti which the AlunAlun Dance Circle taught them in the course of the pangalay workshop with them in October 2017. Tauti is a mimetic dance that imitates how fishermen catch catfish.

UP TUGMA, college students from UP College of Music

Lecture-Discussion 9:30 – 11:30:   

The Role of Philippine Theater Traditions in the Shaping of National Identity, with focus on current issues in the 21st Century

Lecturer-facilitator: DR. JERRY RESPETO   

He is the director of the Fine Arts Program of the School of Humanities of the Ateneo de Manila University. He translated many plays into Filipino, such as Ateneo ENTABLADO’s La Mandragola into Ang Birheng Matimtiman (2006) and Tanghalang Pilipino’s The Crucible into Ang Pag-uusig (2017). He directed Ateneo ENTABLADO’s Labaw Donggon: Ang Banog ng Sanlibutan (2013), Sandaang Panaginip (2015), and Batang Rizal (2017). He was awarded as Outstanding Junior Teacher by the Ateneo Schools Parents Council in 2010.

Dr. Jerry Respeto’s talk on Philippine Theater was very enlightening and entertaining. He posed many questions that were enthusiastically answered by the participants.Dr. Respeto talked about dramatic forms and important plays throughout Philippine history.

LUNCH BREAK

Performance:   Pangalay by AlunAlun Dance Circle with UP TUGMA and Marikina Dance Guild

1:15 – 2:45: Film Showing: “Ang Kuwento ng mga Aninong Sumasayaw” about the pangalay dance style and how it is connected with Filipino identity —  Pagtuklas ng Sarili Bilang Pilipino sa pamamagitan ng Katutubong Sayaw (Discovering the Filipino Identity through Traditional Dance)

Lecturer: DR. LIGAYA FERNANDO AMILBANGSA

A Ramon Magsasay Awardee in 2015, she is the pioneer researcher, leading advocate, and a master teacher, choreographer, and performer of pangalay (also known as igal or pansak), a little-known traditional dance style of the Sulu Archipelago. Her two books on the ethnic dances and cultural artifacts of the region are Pangalay: Traditional Dances and Related Folk Artistic Expressions (1983) and Ukkil: Visual Arts of the Sulu Archipelago (2006). In 2016 she was conferred the degree of Doctor of Fine Arts, honoris causa, by the Far Eastern University, for her untiring leadership and invaluable contributions to Philippine culture and the arts.

Short Lecture-discussion  with Audience Participation: Dr. Ligaya Fernando Amilbanga

3:00 p.m. – Closing Ceremonies and Giving of Certificates

Led by Emcee and ADC Board Member Dr. Pacita Gavino and ADC Artistic Director Ligaya Fernando Amilbangsa

The Youth Seminar was truly successful. The theater was jam-packed in all the sessions. The young people listened attentively and participated in the discussions.

4:00 pm Performance: Medley of Folk Songs by the SDO Marikina Himig Kawayan

The delightful medley of songs was a celebratory ending to the successful three-day seminar workshop.

After the three-day seminar-workshop, some of the organizers, staff, volunteers, dancers, technicians posed for souvenir photos and selfies.

PERFORMANCE IN UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES, DILIMAN CAMPUS
UP Diliman, GT Toyota Asian Center Auditorium, 28 Feb 2017

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“Salaysayan: K’wentong Bayan. Kaalamang Bayan”

The occasion was the closing of UP Diliman Month. It was a successful  performance among the academe and the top administrators of the state university.

The 15-minute performance consisted of What is Pangalay, focusing on the Philippines as a water culture.  Dancers: Nannette Matilac, Temay Padero, Pacita Gavino, Joy Ricote-Cruz, Jimo Angeles, Levi Azarcon, Mannex Siapno; Choreographer and director: Ligaya Amilbangsa.

Venue: GT Toyota Asian Center Auditorium.

WATER SYMPHONY
Roosevelt College, Rodriguez in Rizal Province

 

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Roosevelt College, Rodriguez, Rizal scheduled on 27 Feb 2017

[DUE TO THE NATIONWIDE TRANSPORT STRIKE ON MONDAY, 27 FEBRUARY 2017,  ROOSEVELT COLLEGE HAD TO POSTPONE THE PERFORMANCE. ]

This production titled WATER SYMPHONY was sponsored by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) in partnership with the AlunAlun Dance Circle. The rescheduled performance on 6 Mar 2017 was very successful, attended by roughly 1000 students from Roosevelt College, Rodriguez, Rizal Province. The school also invited public school students from the municipality. Since all the chairs were occupied, many had to stand or sit on the floor.

It coincided with the inauguration of the new covered court of the school, with a capacity of 1200. The school administration headed by Mrs. Citas Alcantara was very excited that a pangalay performance to commemorate National Arts Month was the first activity in the covered court.

Significance of Water

Water is the precious gift of our planet to us, without which no life can exist. Nothing is as fresh, pure, and life-giving as water.  Pangalay is an indigenous dance with an intimate relationship to water. Among coastal settlers and houseboat communities of the Sulu Archipelago in Southern Philippines, pangalay flourished as a lively expression of their close connection with nature. As this connection is gradually being lost, so is pangalay in danger of vanishing altogether.

Water Symphony is a celebration of life through dance. Pangalay reminds us that we come from a water culture. With each step we want to reconnect with the power and mystery of water. We want to allow water to speak through our movements.  When we listen to water revealing its secrets, we learn more about who we are.

What is Pangalay?

This is an annotated demonstration of the refined aesthetics of pangalay gestures and postures, accompanied by costumes of everyday life among the Tau Sug, Badjaw, Sama and Jama Mapun groups of the Sulu Archipelago. In the photo from left: Lyndie Literal, Ligaya Amilbangsa (director/choreographer), Nannette Matilac.

Mutya ng Pasig (Muse of the Pasig River)

The dance is about a mysterious woman living on the banks of the Pasig River. She is the muse of the Pasig River who laments the imminent death of the river due to pollution and criminal neglect. With music by  Nicanor Abelardo and rendition by Sylvia la Torre and dancers (from left) Lyndie Literal, Ligaya Amilbangsa, Nannette Matilac, Joy Ricote-Cruz.

Below the Waves

Since time immemorial, humans are drawn to the sea. The seascapes of the Philippines are formed and maintained by the interaction with human activities.  As a tribute to the seas and oceans that sustain human life in our world, we bring you Below the Waves, with percussion music by African water drummers.  Dancers from left: Joy Ricote-Cruz, Lyndie Literal, Mannex Siapno

Sa Ugoy ng Duyan (Cradle Song)

Water is a magical element sustaining an unborn child in his mother’s womb and accompanying the baby’s emergence into the world. Pangalay’s gentle and soothing movements are well-suited for this vignette of a mother’s healing and nurturing nature, like water quenching our primal thirst for love.  Music by National Artist Lucio San Pedro; Lyrics by National Artist Levi Celerio; Rendition by Regine Velasquez. Solo dance by Nannette Matilac

Power of Water

Water as Creator/Destroyer within the intermittent character of nature is depicted in choreography based on Tawti (dance of the fisherman), Langka (martial dance), and Linggisan (bird dance) which are all pangalay variants.  Music for this dance is titled Pamugun by National Artist Francisco Feliciano and sung by the Philippine Madrigal Singers.

Dancers fr left: Jimo Angeles, Lyn Literal, Joy Ricote-Cruz, Ligaya Amilbangsa, Nannette Matilac, Mannex Siapno.

Open Forum and Audience Participation

Ramon Magsaysay Awards cites Filipino for art crusade in South

Citation for the 2015 Ramon Magsaysay Award

LIGAYA FERNANDO-AMILBANGSA

In a time that has seen nations violently torn apart by ethnic and religious wars, it is important to be reminded of the healing power of the arts in showing that while culture is what makes people of various ethnicities, religions, and nationalities distinct, it is also culture that connects them in the awareness of a shared humanity that is enriched by such differences.

This truth lies at the heart of the lifework of Ligaya Fernando-Amilbangsa. Born to a prominent Catholic family in Marikina, Metro Manila, Fernando-Amilbangsa had always loved dance and the arts. A turning point in her life came when she married a schoolmate and moved to his home in Sulu where, in the next three decades, she immersed herself in the rich cultural life of the Muslim South. In the midst of the region’s secessionist and insurgent conflicts, she turned her love for the arts into a vocation as cultural researcher, educator, artist and advocate of the indigenous arts of the southern Philippines, particularly the Sulu Archipelago.

Her signature involvement has been the study, conservation, practice and promotion of the dance style called pangalay (“gift offering,” or “temple of dance” in Sanskrit), a pre-Islamic dance tradition among the Samal, Badjao, Jama Mapun, and Tausug peoples of the provinces of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi. A highly intricate and expressive dance of many variations, traditionally performed in weddings and other festive events, pangalay has the richest movement vocabulary of all ethnic dances in the Philippines and is the country’s living link to the ancient, classical dance traditions elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

Fascinated by its beauty and recognizing its importance in the cultural heritage of the Sulu Archipelago and the entire Filipino nation, she was saddened to see that pangalay was becoming a marginalized tradition. Thus she committed her life to patiently documenting the dance and its allied expressions; teaching the dance using a method she personally developed, promoting it by choreographing and organizing performances, and making it known to the world through her lectures, performances, and writings on pangalay and the visual arts of the Sulu Archipelago.
Working mainly in an individual capacity and using her own personal resources, she inspired the formation of performing arts groups, networked with dance scholars and practitioners in Asia, and presented both traditional and innovative pangalay choreographies in and outside the country. Moving back to Metro Manila in 1999, she formed the AlunAlun Dance Circle (ADC) and lent her own home for a dance studio—to study, teach, and perform pangalay and other traditional dance forms. The group has since done hundreds of performances and workshops throughout the country.

For Fernando-Amilbangsa, traditional dances like pangalay are not museum pieces but something to be nurtured as a living tradition that grows as societies change. Thus she has innovated with pangalay performances done to modern music, conveying contemporary themes like women’s rights and environmental conservation. Yet she has always stressed that art must stay rooted in the basic values that humanize—beauty, grace, a disciplined spirituality, and harmony with nature and fellow humans. “Without looking to the past,” she says, “something really new cannot be created.”

In electing Ligaya Fernando-Amilbangsa to receive the 2015 Ramon Magsaysay Award, the board of trustees recognizes her single-minded crusade in preserving the endangered artistic heritage of southern Philippines, and in creatively propagating a dance form that celebrates and deepens the sense of shared cultural identity among Asians.

This link will redirect to the original Philippine Daily Inquirer article.

The AlunAlun Dance Circle and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts present Pangalay ng Bayan: Sayaw at Laro ng Lahi at the ValerianoE.FugosoElementary  School  Quadrangle, Manila Boys’ Town Complex, Parang, Marikina City on 15 December 2014 , 10 a.m.

The 30-minute recital featuring new dances will recreate selected Philippine Games in pangalay dance style, like habulan, taguan, bahay-bahayan, and others. The dances will showcase the pangalay dance style which is now part of the K-12 program of DepEd. The recital is the culminating activity of the ongoing pangalay dance training among the young wards of the Girls’ Home Unit and Boys’ Home Unit of Manila Boys’ Town Complex.

Pangalay at Larong Pilipino
Karapatan ng mga bata ang maglaro sa mga ligtas, malawak, at natural na kapaligiran. Ang mga Pilipino ay may mga katutubong laro na nanganganib nang mawala dahil sa paglaganap ng TV, ng cellphone, ng mga computer game, at ng Internet. Pahalagahan at alalahanin natin ang mga laro ng ating lahi dahil maraming itinuturo ang mga larong ito sa paghubog ng ugali, isip, diwa, at damdamin ng mga kabataan.

August 2014 is a lucky and busy month.

On 4 August 2014, the 10th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival exhibited under its Pinoy Pride Philippine Documentaries the film Ang Pagbabalik sa Tawi-Tawi  (Return to Tawi-Tawi), Monday, 12:45 pm at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP)  Little Theater.

The guests of honor who graced the affair were Dr Bienvenido Lumbera and Dr Ramon Santos, National Artists; Hon. Ruby M. Sahali, Representative of the Lone District of Tawi-Tawi province; Dr. Nina Lim-Yuson, President and CEO of Museo Pambata; Carmen D. Padilla, President of International Organization of Folk Art (IOV), Mr Bayani Fernando, President of BF Group of Companies and former MMDA Chair; Ma. Lourdes C. Fernando, multi-awarded former Mayor of Marikina City.  Basilio Esteban Villaruz, art critic and UP Prof Emeritus in Dance at the College of Music, was not able to make it but sent his best wishes and congratulations.

Many among the audience were natives of Tawi-Tawi and Sulu provinces. Some flew in from the Sulu Archipelago just to attend the meaningful film showing, like Cong. Ruby Sahali, Dr. Filemon Romero, and Prof. Johnny Lee with his two daughters. Romero and Lee were founding members of the Tambuli Cultural Troupe in 1974. The two performed in the Cultural Center of the Philippines in 1974. Therefore, after 40 years, this reunion at the CCP for the film “Ang Pagbabalik sa Tawi-Tawi” was really a coming into full circle, a completion, a milestone.

The 71-minute film culminated in a performance by the AlunAlun Dance Circle. Mannex Siapno performed the tawti while the closing credits rolled on the big screen. Child dancer Hannah Wadi danced beautifully, hands adorned with her cute janggay (metal claws). Accompanying Hannah were Mariel Francisco and Pacita Gavino who both performed the bula’bula or dance with bamboo clappers. Nannette Matilac did a solo pangalay dance. The finale of the performance was Ligaya Amilbangsa who showed her beautiful lines in the linggisan or bird dance, which is one of the original chore0graphy of Ligaya Amilbangsa based on field research that is essayed in the documentary film. The film showing is just the beginning of a series of film exhibitions of the documentary film all over the country and abroad.

On 2 August 2014, the AlunAlun Dance Circle performed in two separate venues at the Museo Pambata and at the SM the Block Atrium for the 2014 Eid’l Fitr Festival.

The Eid’l Fitr Exhibit at the Museo Pambata opened with a performance and interaction with children. It was a fun afternoon with children. Another session is set on 9 August 2014.

 

Levi Azarcon and Mannex Siapno demonstrate pangalay postures and gestures while boys enthusiastically imitate them.