Because the dance world operates on rather lean subsidies provided through donations by private entities or local governments, shifts in operations depend highly on socioeconomic situations. The pandemic just about crushed this art form, with theaters and other performance venues closing down, even curtailing dance companies’ additional sustenance from ticket sales, aside from denying dancers...
Category: Culture
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The extraordinary Cherie Gil
Cherie Gil came across in varying ways—imperious and intimidating; funny, warm and open; beguiling and sexy. Writing this, thinking about her and my time with her, I realize I probably really knew only one facet of a woman I love dearly and hold in great esteem. I’m certain her family, her barkada (the women—and man—who I fondly...
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‘Pamana’: Archery enthusiasts aim at heritage target
Every Tuesday and Friday on a grassy lot behind the University of the Philippines’ (UP) Albert Hall in Diliman, Quezon City, archery enthusiasts are shooting arrows at a circular straw target from different distances. Rather than hitting the bull’s eye and running up points as in competitive archery, they are focused on perfecting the athletic...
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Celebrating multi-identities and diversity
This year, Philippine sports got a big boost by the performance of its women’s national football team. In February, the team, Filipinas, reached the semifinals of the Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup, thus qualifying for the FIFA Women’s World Cup. In May, it copped a first-ever medal finish (bronze) at the 31st Southeast Asian Games. And...
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‘Mula sa Buwan’: In the spirit of defiance
When “Mula sa Buwan” returns on Aug. 26 at Samsung Performing Arts Theater in Circuit Makati, it will not be the same creature that played to packed houses every performance four years ago. In turning Edmond Rostand’s “Cyrano de Bergerac” and Francisco “Soc” Rodrigo’s Filipino translation of that play into a musical, director and co-creator...
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‘A sharp bite in its unassuming quiet’
“Moon Hanging Low Over My Window and Other Poems,” a book of poetry written by Babeth Lolarga and published by UST Publishing House, will be available for pre-orders starting Aug. 1. Readers who will pre-order via Shopee will get the title for a special price of ₱520. The pre-order link will be made available when the...
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Cinemalaya: back with a vengeance
Through the years since 2005, the Cinemalaya festival, a project of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), has been providing the more discerning moviegoers—many of them young people—some memorable films. During that first year, one of the independently produced movies in the full-length category was “Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros.” It did not win...
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An open letter to the next CCP artistic director
Dear Colleague, “Break a leg!” for taking on what could be the best arts management post in the country. I wish you the most fulfilling time as you immerse in the hundreds of arts-related activities during your tenure. You will have the great fortune of experiencing and learning from hundreds of “live” shows in the...
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Fire at the ‘National Theater’
The photos taken by professional and amateur photographers on June 17 told the disheartening story: The grande dame Manila Metropolitan Theater, or simply the Met, one of the cultural shrines of the antebellum period (along with the Manila Grand Opera House), fronting Liwasang Bonifacio—don’t call it Lawton—was on fire. Smoke billowed from the first floor...
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Thank you, National Artist ‘Sir’ Ricky Lee
Thank you, Sir Ricky Lee. For going all the way to UPLB (University of the Philippines Los Banos) back in 2012 for the original staging we did of your novel “Para Kay B.” It was a small production. You didn’t know any of us but there you were gracing us with your presence. When I...