The FEU Dance Company (FDC), which recently placed second in World of Dance Philippines 2025, will stage its annual major concert dubbed “FRAMES: Elevating the Unseen” on March 28 and 29. Through Philippine folk dances and an open-style segment choreographed by FDC members and artistic director Michael Barry Que, the company will present a collection...
Tag: dance
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Alice Reyes opens 2025 with ‘Pagdiriwang: Sayaw Alay Sa Sining’
That dance is life must surely be the motto of ballet dancers. They devote countless hours to perfect a hand gesture, an extended leg, or a hair toss, much like the way the members of Alice Reyes Dance Philippines (ARDP) do. In fact, the ARDP dancers are busy rehearsing—eight hours every day—the choreography of the...
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There’s more than dance in ‘Juan Tamad’ by Alice Reyes Dance Philippines
Near the rear of the Metropolitan Theater as you turn left from Dr. Basa Street in Ermita, Manila, there’s a long, wide studio with open windows facing a wall of mirrors. The dancers of Alice Reyes Dance Philippines (ARDP) are trying on their animal costumes for the first time. Krislynne Buri, playing Paboreal (peacock), gets...
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‘Pangalay at Maskara’ returns to historic FEU theater
The AlunAlun Dance Circle’s “Pangalay at Maskara” returns to the historic Far Eastern University (FEU) Auditorium in Manila in time for the celebration of Indigenous Peoples’ Month this October. “Pangalay” (also known as “igal” and “pamansak”) is a living heritage that originates from the indigenous peoples of southern Philippines, namely the Sama, Badjao, Jama Mapun,...
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CCP’s ‘Pasinaya’ breaks away from old notions and pandemic isolation
A wristband worth P50 allows a person to experience all the performances, workshops, art exhibits, and film showings being offered on Feb. 3-5 at the “Pasinaya 2023 Open House Festival” of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). The festival, now on its 18th year, has “Piglas Sining” as its theme—a breaking free from the...
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How ‘pangalay’ brought ‘ginhawa’ and helped me through the pandemic
I found health in conscious breathing and wave-like movements. The Covid-19 pandemic affected all aspects of our lives, not just our physical health. The lockdown and stay-at-home policies closed businesses, cancelled social gatherings, and caused shifts in working and studying setups. As the pandemic is more than a health crisis, we strived to be well...
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Dancing full circle at 80
Dance is history; little is said, but much is understood. I made history through research, documentation, and publication of the traditional performing arts and related folk artistic expressions of the Sulu Archipelago in the southern Philippines. To keep a dance tradition alive, it must live in a dancing body. Instinct guided me to nurture “pangalay”—“gift...
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The exactness of Agnes
The rehearsal hall turns tense and the dancers stand still as Agnes Locsin critiques their execution of the steps. She slowly rises, touching her abdomen as she points to the exact spot where—and how—they must lift in order to deliver the right intensity and angle that the step requires. It’s clear that she has mastered...
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Dancers rebound with Alice Reyes Dance Philippines
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...