Mourning for Cory and the Arts Community

I never thought I'd be this much affected. It has been a tough week for the Philippines, as a friend said "Nag-quota na si God sa Philippines this week". The biggest tragedy perhaps is that Cory Aquino, the icon for freedom and respect for the constitution, died on August 1. The Philippines just felt a little unsafer for me and many others at this point.

This feeling stems from a culmination of events. The arts community has been hit this week by the proclamation of the new National Artists. To give you a background, the arts community in this country has been struggling to be taken seriously. Now there has been talk that Carlo J. Caparas, a filmmaker, and Cecile Guidote Alvarez, a theater stalwart, have been proclaimed as National Artists. I am not here to lambast these two and say they don't deserve it. I am in no position and have no right to say that. They create art in their own way, as all artists are wont to do.

What affects me immensely is the disrepect for the protocol. The process is this: Selection committee names candidates > deliberation happens > awards are announced.

Now the two are named National artists without going through the process. Someone from up there just said, hey, I think these two are cool, let's just give them the award. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is a great disservice to the community.

I've seen talented friends give up their would-be careers in art, because they lost faith in the system. Simply put, they weren't taken seriously. I've seen the exodus of Philippine talent go to Hong Kong and work in Disneyland because it was a job that paid well. These are people who are well respected in the theater and dance community, who can change lives in our country, but couldn't -- well, because they needed to survive.

The National Artist slate isn't just a trophy to massage egos. It is a validation that indeed, there is hope that artists will be appreciated and taken seriously. A validation that disproves how some people see art as frivolous and unnecessary. With total disrespect for something as simple as a process...what message does that send? I feel as if little by little, my freedom and rights are taken away from me.

Cory fought for freedom and democracy. Democracy is something we enjoy unconsciously in our daily lives. You like watching the teleseryes on ABS-CBN? Well, guess what, you're watching that right now because of Cory. You like walking around without a curfew in the evening? Yup, democracy. You like the fact that your government is accountable to you? That is freedom.

One of the most touching speeches I've heard was when Cory claimed that "this is my contract with the people". Her contract of accountability to the nation. If something as "little" as the process of giving out an award is disrespected, then I'm afraid for the bigger things that can happen/is happening. We need to keep being angry. Once you stop being angry, then it is hope you're giving up. Or worse, it would mean that you're accepting this as a way of life.

I still have hope for this nation, and I promise to keep fighting the good fight in my own little way. Because if not, then I might as well give up my rights as a Filipino.

Circo De Baila - June 14, 2009

At Baila Dance Studio's circus-themed recital last June 14 at the Insular Theater Alabang.

Everyone's faces were painted, the kids danced hiphop in animal costumes (cute!), there were dancing magicians, mimes, the excellent gymnasts. I could go on and on. And of course, the superb choreography. One of Baila's best productions, I must say.

I danced Flamenco Oriental by Dalida. Will post a video once it's uploaded :)

Orientalia Festival at Hong Kong

I realized that I haven't written about one of the most important dance experiences I've had thus far. I need to share this, for the sake of dancers who want to go professional, and for those who are too afraid/embarrassed/shy to start taking up formal dance lessons.

I've spent most of my life onstage -- starting with annual piano recitals (for 13 years), then moving onto theater (6 years), then finally dance (13 years and counting). I stuck with dance, because this is the medium where I can express myself most.

Don't get me wrong -- I loved playing music (I even experimented with the violin for a year) and I loved acting. But to dance! To dance is a combination of all this: of music, of acting, of being yourself.

I've had my share of inspiring (and scary) dance mentors. Discipline-wise, I think I learned a lot from Powerdance, where the mantra was "bawal magmukhang tanga" and where some teachers resort to mild physical and verbal abuse just for you to get it right. I didn't mind, because learning the technique was well worth the pain and the injury. :) If you want to go pro, Powerdance is one of the best dance companies in Manila to train with. But if you want to have fun dance lessons without the stress, this isn't probably the place for you.

But the most inspiring teacher to note was Tamalyn Dallal. Her humility and ability to inspire astound me. Learning from her changed a lot about my perspective of myself as a dancer...so much that it altered my dance style and technique.

Ok warning, cliche coming up. I've been guilty of throwing around the term "dancing from the heart", thinking that I fully understood what this meant. Yes, I feel the music pulsating when I dance. And my body reacts, moving along with the rhythm. I probably understood it on a somewhat superficial level. Tamalyn opened my eyes, and not only made me understand, but actually made me feel what it was like to dance from the heart. I cannot fully explain how this happened, but I guess her love for dance just overflows and is so sincere that it rubs off on the dancers she mentors.

On my way back to Manila, there was just one thing going on in my mind: What the heck am I doing?

My favorite thing about traveling is that it shatters you, both in a good and bad way. You thought you knew things, huh. Try meeting with 20+ dancers from different countries and you'll realize that YOU DON'T EFFING KNOW A THING.

Traveling has a way of shattering your perceptions and validates that you know nothing about the world. In this case, it validated that I don't know jack about dance. Years of learning, and I suddenly realize that well... I know nothing. Being exposed to people who have actually lived with the people, intensively studied the culture, interacted and danced with real people from the middle east, is an eye opener. Tamalyn Dallal is a true artist at heart. It is humbling to meet someone who is a superstar in my eyes, but is kind, warm and says that she herself is still learning about the craft. 30+ years of dancing, and she is still discovering new things.

I have a long way to go.

Here's hoping that all dancers, even once on their lives, meet someone like her.

Videos, finally!

So whenever we get inquiries about our performances, potential clients always ask us if we have any videos of our performances. In this day and age of the internet, it's not very difficult to Youtube our performances, right? Right?

Well, uh, sadly, for the past 4 years or so, I've always directed clients to this blog to check out the pictures, and to see where we've performed and who we've performed for. I shamefully admitted that we didn't have videos, and hoped that the pictures would suffice. I guess that kinda worked because we've gotten enough clients who see us "perform" through photos. Thank you for trusting us!

But now, voila! We have a total of 2 videos available for online viewing. It's a good start. And hopefully, people record more of our performances and post it online. Ch-ch-ch-check us out:

Baila Dance Studio Recital, June 2008 at the RCBC Theater in Makati
Aryn, Ros, Monica and me are joined by Tonette (another teacher at Baila) and Inka, a student at Baila



Ayala Land Premiere Sales Kick-Off Event, January 2009 at The Embassy in Taguig
A short clip of me, Ros, Aryn, Mons and Carmelle at a super energetic party. This performance was fun, because you can just feel the electricity in the air.

So that's that, we are now high-tech. Hooray for us.

Updates, updates!

I'm such a terrible updater, but here are the going-ons for the past few months. I don't have photos of all the events I've performed at (like the Zonta Christmas Party, DAP Anniversary), but this'll have to do for now :)

San Miguel Oktoberfest 2008
September 5, 2008 at San Miguel Avenue, Ortigas

This was the opening party for Oktoberfest (I know Oktoberfest in September, confusing right?). San Miguel decided to have a 120-day party, that starts in September and ends in December. Highlight of the event is 3rd Eye Blind performing. We don't have photos of us performing, but we have photos of us backstage hanging out.



Anthony Genuino's 27th Birthday
November 29, 2008 at Los Banos Laguna

Ok, so this guy knows how to throw a party. It was a middle eastern themed event. Aside from bellydancers, he also had fire dancers (hello PlanetZips!), 40 (yes, this isn't a typo) party ambassadors (a.k.a. pretty girls hired to mingle with guests), an all-girl show band, and live drummers.







Two Ayala Land Premier Events

We performed at their Christmas Party at Shangri-La Makati last December, and I guess they liked us, because they invited us again for their year-opener celebration in January at Embassy.






JWT Christmas Party
December 19, 2009 at Hierarchy Bar, Fort Bonifacio

At the JWT Boho-themed Christmas Party. A good friend, Janlo Cui, invited me to open the show.








Lomibao-Coloma Wedding
January 3, 2009 at 1 Esplanade

Middle-eastern themed wedding that was super cool because we performed with live music, played by the Philharmonic Orchestra.

Bohemian Party Teaser at JWT

So the creative folks at JWT will be having a bohemian/gypsy inspired theme for their Christmas party on Dec. 19. As part of their party teaser, they decided to have a belly dancer strut around the office (with live bongo drumming c/o Iking and tambourines smashing and girls cheering) during a normal office day. What a fun office! Read more about it here.

Orientalia 2008

Hello kids,

If by any chance any of you (or anyone you know) would be interested to see a whole UN assembly (hehe) of belly dancers perform onstage, then please join me (reprezent!), and a whole lot of talented dancers from the the US, Indonesia, Egypt, India, Canada, Hong Kong, Shanghai, etc, etc. I could go on and on.

ORIENTALIA 2008
Hong Kong City Hall Theatre
November 9, 2008
3:00 pm

A showcase of the dances of the Orient, including Ethnic Dance, Belly Dance, and other Middle Eastern Dance & Music

You can find more information at:
www.christian-action.org.hk/orientalia

Proceeds will go to Christian Action - Domestic Helpers and Migrant Workers Programme. And we all know how many dear Filipino domestic helpers are in Hong Kong, so this is for a good cause for our OFWs. :)

Dance workshops will also be held throughout the week. Check out www.christian-action.org.hk/orientalia/workshops.html for rates and schedule.

1st Movement Studio Recital - June 6 - Rockwell Tent, Makati

Our mother hen, Lala Dinglasan, held the very first dance recital for her dance studio -- Movement Dance Studio in Greenhills (Call 7217711 for more info). There were tiny bellydancers, hip hoppers, jazz-ers, sexy pole dancers, a fire dancer, flamenco folks and just plain crazy people (us).

Qatar Airways Event - March 7, Shangri-La Makati

Qatar Airways held a charming middle-eastern themed event for their beloved clients. We performed to live music c/o a cool cool percussion group (rockstars!), the Bahaghari Drum Ensemble.

Girls Got Game Camp, May 17, Blue Eagle Gym - Ateneo

Aaah, nice to be back in Katipunan. After so-so number of years, I get to go back to Ateneo for another activity for the Nike "This is Love" campaign. It's a privelege to give something back to an institution that has given me so much (I actually started dancing seriously during my days in this university). Mico Halili, sportscaster and visionary extraordinaire, founded the Girls Got Game Camp (3G), a basketball camp for high school girls. You should listen to Mico talk about his effort of uplifting sports training for women. It's truly inspiring.

My job was to give these athletes a short demo on bellydancing during the camp and give them a talk about my passion for dance. I know, basketball and bellydancing do not go together. But the goal was to make them aware of other activities they can pursue. The grace of dance will be helpful for them to bring in the court.

It wasn't easy for me, because these were hardcore basketball buffs. I didn't know how to make them relate to Middle Eastern dance. I don't play basketball, and a lot of these girls don't do the dance thing. So I told them that we had a common denominator, that is passion for what we do.

The demo was a riot, because this was a bunch of rowdy girls. I had fun, and it looked like they did too (I hope!).