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By Elizabeth Lolarga, VERA Files
For Yahoo! Southeast Asia

The rediscovered dance form, pangalay, which translates to “a gift offering,” is now being performed to songs interpreted by Josh Groban, Jacqui Magno, the inimitable Sylvia la Torre, among others.

The ancient pangalay involves the use of downcast eyes, fluid arm movements, flexing of hands, bent knees and deceptively easy-looking, mincing footsteps.

Purists may balk at why pangalay, as choreographed and danced by members of Ligaya Amilbangsa’s AlunAlun Dance Circle (ADC), is not sustained by the percussive beat alone of the kulintang.

One of ADC’s missions is to show that the basic movement of pangalay can adapt to pop music hits like Ennio Morricone’s composition “You’re Still You” or a mambo take-off from Mozart’s “Symphony No. 40.”

At a performance of new choreographic works at the UP Dance Studio in Diliman, Quezon City, the ADC showed how versatile pangalay could be—how it could be danced to indigenous and Western music. This proved its openness to possibilities while its form is still conserved.

In the old days, pangalay was a ritual dance or form of prayer seen at weddings, birthdays or whenever special guests visit. Sometimes, it was danced to drive malevolent spirits away.

Prof. Steve Villaruz said in his introduction it is a pity pangalay is not seen often, has been neglected or almost forgotten as it is too far south of the archipelago. He traced the public’s ignorance to perhaps “a bias against fellow Asians” since pangalay has movements similar to other classical styles of Asian dances in Indonesia, Cambodia, and Thailand.

ADC dancer-managing director Nanette Matilac demonstrated pangalay‘s link to Asian theater and martial art forms like the Noh, tai chi and aikido where “breathing is the key to hours of dancing.”

Emcee CB Garrucho, also an ADC member, recalled the moment when she and others first saw Amilbangsa dance and felt as though they were “hit between the eyes.” The dancing had such an impact on their souls that they sought out the dancer-scholar. They learned that pangalay is almost dying with three-fourths of the country unaware of it. As the group grew, the ADC was formed to keep it alive with dance classes held each Sunday at 35 Sampaguita St., Lopezville Subdivision, Masinag, Antipolo City.

Amilbangsa said: “Pangalay has to be danced constantly, or else it dies. It is a piece of our identity that speaks beautifully of us as a people. It’s our living link to our Asian heritage.”

While doing research in the Sulu archipelago, she once saw a hunched, raggedly dressed woman by the road. The minute the kulintang was struck and began its hypnotic beat, the woman transformed into a queenly figure as she went through the pangalay steps.

Amilbangsa encouraged more dance students to try the movements, which she likened to “motion in stillness, stillness in motion.”

“It’s very relaxed and quiet,” she said. “It’s in your bones. Hindi niyo lang ginagamit (You just don’t use it).”

The male and female dancers were garbed in all-black outfits and soft ballet slippers, all the more to outline and define their movements against a stark backdrop of shrouded dance mirrors. There were accents of flowers behind the ears, twinkling earrings and sashes for the ladies, head gear and sometimes janggay (metal claws) for the men.

Pangalay‘s striking feature is its capacity to accommodate a vast age range. There was a girl, Gemely C. Amar, not quite out of her teens, dancers in their prime like Raymund Marcaida, women in their 50s and 60s. And then there’s Amilbangsa herself whose supple low bend on a single knee while dancing behind a mask to “Mambozart” by the Klazz Brothers and Cuba Percussion belied her age of 67.

ADC must also be commended for its eclectic choice of music. It gives a respectful bow to National Artists Nicanor Abelardo (“Bituing Marikit”) and Levi Celerio (“Basta’t Mahal Kita”), to Nitoy Gonzales’ haunting “Usahay,” which Matilac choreographed and danced, turning herself just by suggestive movements into a young woman once more, holding close through her daydreams her secret love. Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Flight of the Bumble Bee” punctuated Matilac’s busy bee eluding capture by hunter Kevin Lumbao, an aikido player.

Constancio de Guzman’s “Ang Tangi Kong Pag-ibig,” sung by Marco Sison, had Francisco and Marcaida moving in mirror image like a mature couple attuned to each other’s reflexes that each movement is almost predictable.

The ardor is again suggested as pangalay speaks in “emotional metaphors,” Amilbangsa said. An outstretched hand, for example, could be a salutation of welcome or joy.

For 2011, ADC is lining up performances in schools, especially during the arts month in February. Matilac said they want to show pangalay to the youth to give a practical expression of being Filipino as against, on one hand, Christianized/Hispanized folk dances and on the other, Western dances from ballet to jazz to hip-hop.

During the open forum at UP, a student who had learned pangalay under Matilac said she was happy to discover it after training in ballet and jazz. She said it made her feel more Filipino.

“Hinding-hindi ko po ito bibitiwan (I won’t ever let go of this),” she said.

***
VERA Files is put out by veteran journalists taking a deeper look at current issues. Vera is Latin for “true.”

Source:
http://verafiles.org/features/pangalay-neglected-dance-form-experiences-exciting-revival/
http://ph.yfittopostblog.com/2010/12/26/neglected-dance-form-experiences-exciting-revival/

By Raymund ‘Rama’ Marcaida

A meaningful cultural exposure and immersion in Indonesia 23 years ago left an indelible impression on me. It gave me the impetus to appreciate Asian indigenous dance cultures at the time when I was training mostly on western type of dances. For this gift, I would be forever grateful to the people of Indonesia.

My first encounter with Indonesian dance culture happened in 1986 when I was fortunate to have been chosen as the Philippine representative to the Cultural Exchange Program of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). For six months, I was in Yogyakarta in the island of Java, studying and sweating it out at the Padepokan Seni Bagong Kussudiardja, learning diverse variety of Indonesian traditional dances, classical, as well as “Kreasi Baru”, New Creation dances and ‘Tari Gaya Bali’, Balinese dances.

My interest with Balinese dances was further sustained when I was granted a year-long dance scholarship at the Sekolah Tinggi Seni Indonesia (STSI), the Indonesian Art College in Denpasar Bali under the Darmasiswa Program of the Government of Indonesia in 1991-1992.

Flash forward, 17 years: I performed a Balinese dance called “Tari Baris” at the Philippine-Indonesian Friendship Day celebration in November 2009, marking the 60^th year of cordial diplomatic ties between the two Southeast Asian countries. It felt like I had gone full circle with my Indonesian odyssey, made more meaningful since I also performed the Pangalay with the AlunAlun Dance Circle, of which I have been a member since 2007.

Performing for the audience comprised of Indonesian diplomats, expatriates and Filipinos gave me a natural high, especially when I realized that, after all these years, my mind and muscles have retained the nuances of Balinese dance movements and postures. This was affirmed when, during one of our rehearsals, one of the Indonesians commented that I was moving like a Balinese. In retrospect, perhaps it was this exposure to Balinese dances that led me to Pangalay—the Philippine dance that truly has an affinity with Balinese and other Indonesian dances. The earlier Asian encounter prepared me for the opportunity when I would finally be introduced to the ancient Philippine indigenous dance. Indonesian dances were my introduction to ethnic pride. Pangalay made ethnic pride tangibly real to me as a Filipino! The two cultures will dance in my soul for a long, long time.

I was so fulfilled during that special November evening in 2009, when I was able to share, especially to the Indonesians, the Pangalay dance form of which I have been blessed to know, learn and perform.

‘Mari kita menari sama-sama!’ ‘Magsayaw tayo!’   Let’s dance!

Launched in partnership with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) on the occasion of International Arts Month in February 2010, about 4000 young people  watched  the five separate performances of “Pangalay at Musika ng Bayan” (Pangalay and  Music of the People) in Manila and Angeles City.

Two Performances at the Emilio Aguinaldo College, Manila

12 February 2010

The pangalay performances at the Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC) in Manila last 12 February  2010 was a triumph for both the AlunAlun Dance Circle, headed by Ms. Ligaya Fernando-Amilbangsa, and the student body of EAC. “Pangalay at Musika ng Bayan” coincided with the College Foundation Day presentations, making the celebration of International Arts Month more meaningful to the audience.

Earlier pangalay workshops conducted for the students of EAC by Nannette Matilac in January 2007 produced a group of pangalay admirers and practitioners who continued propagating and dancing pangalay within and outside the EAC campus. As a result of this undertaking, the Pangalay Artists Circle was formed in 2007. Then in 2009, the Yaman-Lahi Dance Artists, which became the official dance group of the Emilio Aguinaldo College, also took up pangalay. The establishment of youth dance groups utilizing pangalay is a remarkable development in the over-all popularization and preservation of pangalay. Hopefully, the young people’s laudable efforts will create ripples outside of their immediate community.

The informative segment called “What is Pangalay?” was performed by the EAC pangalay dancers, who moved with graceful ease and confidence. Several dances from the repertoire of the AlunAlun Dance Circle in Hanoi in 2009 delighted the audience: “Sa Ugoy ng Duyan”, a poignant portrayal of mother’s love to the music of National Artist Lucio San Pedro and lyrics by National Artist Levi Celerio; “Sa Kabukiran”, a playful choreography to the musical composition by Manuel Velez music transcribed by violinist Gilopez Kabayao accompanied by pianist Corazon Pineda; “Tsismis”, a witty spoof on the spread of rumors danced to the novelty song of Yoyoy Villame; and “Bonggahan” which is a Pinoy rock rendition by Sampaguita that  admonishes everyone to join the merrymaking—if only to momentarily forget problems or mundane concerns. The final bow of “Pangalay at Musika ng Bayan” was a performance in itself, utilizing the pangalay obeisance or curtsy, to the live rendition of the Pangalay Artists Circle musicians.

Over-all, “Pangalay at Musika ng Bayan” in EAC was very inspiring because the ADC performed with young people who were touched by the beauty of pangalay when they underwent basic pangalay training three years ago. It was heartwarming and encouraging to know that the students continued to preserve the endangered dance form through continuous performances within and outside the campus. – Rama Marcaida

Three Performances at the Holy Angel University, Angeles City

23 February 2010

In honor of International Arts Month 2010, the AlunAlun Dance Circle, with the support of the NCCA, rendered three one-hour performances at the Holy Angel University theatre in Angeles City.  This was arranged with the office of the university President, Dr. Arlyn Villanueva, through the Director of the Juan D. Nepomuceno Kapampangan Studies Center, Robby Tantingco. About 800 P.E. students and their teachers, plus university officials, attended each performance, for a total audience of approximately 2,500.

Nine AlunAlun members performed a repertoire consisting of traditional pangalay with ethnic musical accompaniment, and modern choreography in the pangalay dance style to the music of nationally acclaimed Filipino masters Gilopez Kabayao and Ernani Cuenco, and folk/pop singers Yoyoy Villame and Sampaguita.

An introduction to “What is Pangalay?” explained the provenance of the dance style and the meaning of the various body stances and hand and finger movements, emphasizing pangalay’s rich movement vocabulary and its closeness to other Asian classical dances.  The main message conveyed was that pangalay is a precious part of our cultural heritage, and we should do everything we can to preserve and propagate it.

The audience response ranged from very positive to enthusiastic, with the students asking questions during the Open Forum.  During the instructional segment of the program, some brave volunteers came on stage to learn the movements, to much cheering and amusement.

Our Artistic Director, Ligaya F. Amilbangsa, and some of the other AlunAlun members, were later interviewed for a video presentation project by two students.  The students were curious as to what led the individual dancers to take up pangalay, and rued the fact that such a beautiful part of our culture is so little-known.

It is our hope that with these outreach performances we were able to inspire the younger generation to take more interest in our indigenous dance heritage—learn it, preserve it and perform it.  – Mariel Francisco