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The last semester of 2016 was a full of significant events and projects. Among the highlights were a performance prayer in Malacañan Palace during the period of Ramadhan in pursuit of the peace process, a performance tour in four Asian countries to promote cultural diplomacy, an NCCA-sponsored dance workshop among 80 young people in Marikina City with the theme of saving the environment, and meaningful performances in various venues with multisectoral and multi-cultural audiences. 

June 9, 2016. Pangalay as the Opening Interfaith Prayer in Malacañan Palace on the ocassion of the launch of “Junctures,” a collection of selected speeches and statements on the Bangsamoro Peace Process from 2012 to 2016. Venue at Rizal Hall, Malacañan Palace, 5 p.m. H.E. President Benigno S. Aquino III was the distinguished guest with the diplomatic corps, media, academe, and other sectoral representatives. Dancers were Mannex Siapno and Nannette Matilac, assisted by Levi Azarcon as technical person.

You may click link to the video recording: 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6ttwLgIMXw&feature=share

June 17, 2016. AlunAlun Dance Circle performed in the Department of Foreign Affair’s “Pamana ng Kalayaan” at the DFA Auditorium 6:00 p.m. The cocktail event attended by the diplomatic community was to commemorate both Heritage Month in May and Philippine Independence anniversary in June. The participants were Ligaya Amilbangsa, CB Garrucho, Mariel Francisco, Nannette Matilac, Gemely Amar, Temay Padero, Lyndie Literal, Jimo Angeles, Mannex Siapno, and Levi Azarcon. Technical supervisor for music and visual projection: Milabel CristobalMilabel Cristobal. Lights supervision by Loren Rivera.

June 21, 2016. Dance number to grace the Opening Ceremony of the “Culture and Art Exhibition” of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) at Rustan’s Makati at 6:00 p.m. The dancers were Gemely Amar and Lyn Literal assisted by Milabel Cristobal.

June 20 to 30, 2016. Water Symphony is the title of the pangalay concert performed in four countries in Asia: India, Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia. Sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs under the Cultural Diplomacy unit, the venues of the pangalay concerts were as follows: 

• New Delhi, India on 22 June 2016, 7:00 p.m. at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library;
• Yangon, Myanmar on 24 June 2016, 7:00 p.m. at the National Theater;
• Vientiane, Lao PDR on 27 June 2016, 7:00 p.m. at the Lao National Cultural Hall, and
• Phnom Penh, Cambodia on 29 June 2016, 7:00 p.m. at the Chaktomuk Theater.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

August 24, 2016. “Pangalay Dance on Arts Online” was made possible by the CCP Arts Education Department through the Audience Development Division. The Arts Online CCP Lecture Series is a “bi-weekly video stream of educational materials for arts enthusiasts and students, and for greater understanding of Philippine arts and culture.” The talk which lasted for over 40 minutes featured the lecture of Ligaya Amilbangsa moderated by Abner Delina Jr. Ten (10) high school sites from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao were linked to the pangalay lecture via live streaming.

September 29, 2016. The Museum Volunteers of the Philippines (MVP) sponsored a dinner activity among its members in Forbes Park residence. The evening event was highlighted by a talk on pangalay with dance demonstration and audience participation. The lecturer was Ligaya Amilbangsa with Mariel Francisco and Mannex Siapno as facilitators.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

October to November 2017. Some 82 young people with ages 8 to 17 participated in weekend pangalay workshops starting on 8 October. Venue was at the covered court of Kalumpang Elementary school. The workshop curriculum is based on the Amilbangsa Instruction Method of teaching pangalay. The head of the instructors was Sarah Lumba. Pangalay teachers were Jimo Angeles, Mannex Siapno, and Temay Padero.

November 17, 2016. Roosevelt College System branch in Cainta sponsored a three-hour session about pangalay starting at 8:00 a.m. This is in line with the vision of reviving the folk dance group of the college. The documentary, Ang Pagbabalik sa Tawi-Tawi— the story on how pangalay was documented and preserved satrting in the late 1960s, was shown to the students, followed by a dance demonstration. Assisting Ligaya Amilbangsa in this event was Jimo Angeles and Lyndie Literal.

December 5, 2016. Likhang Sining Bayan: Alay sa Kalikasan is the title of the pangalay show with the them of saving the environment. The performance is the outcome of the NCCA-sponsored workshop. Performance at the Manila City Hall, 8:00 a.m. : There were at least 1500 spectators at the Flag Ceremony performance on 5 December 2016. The government employees of Marikina City applauded the young dancers who gave a meaningful performance with “Panalangin ng Kabataan ng Marikina para sa Kalikasan” and “Bubuyog at Paruparo.” This was followed by a special show at the Teatro Marikina by 10:00 a.m.

December 10, 2016. The ADC members and he Likhang Sining Bayan workshop participants were invited by Marikina City to perform at the Marikina Sports Center during the Rehiyon-Rehiyon Festival. This is the annual cultural event of Marikina City consisting of competitive street dances and other performances.

December 20, 2016. Many participants of Likhang Sining Bayan are students of KES. Therefore, the school principal, parents, teachers and other students who were all curious of workshop’s outcome anticipated the pangalay segment. The pangalay choreographies consisted the first part of the program after the speeches of KES officers.

BONGAO, Tawi-Tawi- Ms. LIgaya Fernando-Amilbangsa presented a paper on Igal/ Pangalay on the first day of the 1 st International Conference on the Sama Badjao (Sama Dilaut) held at the Marine Science Museum of the MSU Tawi-Tawi College of Technology and Oceanography. The conference, which was held from December 1-3, 2015, had the theme: Sea-bound and Cross-borders Maritime Commerce and Sea-faring Lifeways of the Sama Dilaut in Tawi-Tawi.

Ms. Amilbangsa was assigned to give a lecture on the topic, “Negotiation and Accommodation of Igal as Aesthetic and Performative Ritual.” In her lecture, she highlighted the accomplishments of the Sama Dilaut and noted that igal “asserts the ethnic legitimacy of the Sama Dilaut in a community of strongly-held customs and prejudices, but inhibits social stratification in dance… thus, igal has a dignifying effect and serves as a unifying force among the natives.

Ms. Amilbangsa further observed that while the continued marginalization of the Sama Dilaut brings with it the decline of igal as an aesthetic and performative ritual, there was a “ray of hope” in the recently-held Kamahardikaan Festival, that “seemed to glorify the Sama Dilaut ancestry, judging from the focus on the lepa (houseboat), and igal symbolic of their aesthetic and performative competence.”

Wrapping up her lecture, Ms. Amilbangsa shared her fervent hopes that future festivals “will not only be for show, but a beginning with a happy and meaningful continuity—which will translate into a better socio-economic deal for the Sama Dilaut or Badjaw of the Sulu Archipelago.”

On the second day of the conference, “Memories of the Sea,” a documentary about the Badjaw in Roxas Boulevard, Manila by Ms. Nannette Matilac was shown to the participants.

The three-day workshop was very successful, and generated a lot of interest from the participants, who represented various stakeholder groups.

BONGAO, Tawi-Tawi- On Sept. 25, 2015, the provincial government of Tawi-Tawi again recognized the contribution of Ms. Ligaya Fernando-Amilbangsa to the preservation of the rich cultural heritage of the province during the Agal-Agal Festival program held at the DepEd Compound as part of its 2nd annual Kamahardikaan celebration.

Immediately before the awarding, Dr. Filemon G. Romero, Chairman of the Agal-Agal Festival Committee, read Resolution No. 19 s. 2015which granted Ms. Amilbangsa the Life Achievement Award as a Tawi-Tawian. The resolution stated that Ms. Amilbangsa is “considered a Tawi-Tawian,” due to her marrying Datu Punjungan Amilbangsa and her having lived a major portion of her life in Sitangkai, Simunul, and Bongao. It also recalled that in 2011, she was awarded the Most Outstanding Tawi-Tawian in the field of culture and arts due to her contribution in the preservation of the rich cultural heritage of the province as the founder of MSU TCTO Tambuli Cultural Troupe, which still continues to preserve the authenticity of the native dances and music of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

The resolution also mentioned her authoring two books: Pangalay: Traditional Dances and Related Folk Artistic Expressions, and Ukkil: the Visual Arts of the Sulu Archipelago, as well as her developing a dance vocabulary and methodology to teach Pangalay to non-native dancers. Finally, the resolution also cited Ms. Amilbangsa’s having received a Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2015.

Officials from the different towns of the province looked on as Ms. Amilbangsa was conferred the “Lifetime Achievement Award to a Tawi-Tawian.” Ms. Amilbangsa graciously accepted the award with a speech amid a colorful sea of dancers and boat-inspired floats.

After the awarding ceremonies, participating municipalities showcased the rich cultural traditions of Tawi-Tawi through their dance showdown pieces highlighting different aspects of their culture, as well as the important role of the Agal-agal (seaweed) industry. Among the board of judges for the street dance competition and dance showdown were Ms. Amilbangsa’s former and present Pangalay dancers: Hja. Sakinur-Ain Delasas, who is now the Artistic Director of the Tambuli Cultural Troupe; Mahail Hadjan, who founded another cultural troupe, the Jama Sambatau; and Louanne Mae Calipayan, who is with Ms Amilbangsa’s Manila-based group, the AlunAlun Dance Circle.