So Ive Shown You How Its Done, Now What Can You Do?

Throughout this blog, we have gone through the three amazing regions of the Philippines. From the main lands, to the mountains, we have covered the grounds of dance back in my homeland. Providing this blog for you all to read really reminded me about how much I love doing cultural dancing. Thank you for rekindling the flame in my heart and my passion of my Filipino heritage.

I have basically shared with you half of my life, because cultural dance is a big part of who I am. Ive learned so much from dancing. It was more than a hobby of mine, its an outlet that allows be to be who I am, in my true skin. It has made me grow into the person who I am today, a proud Filipina who wants to share her culture to the world.

Ive offered my knowledge of dance, and all I can say is I hope it has affected you in a way where you want to know either more about the Filipino culture or even your own culture.

Heres a recap of the basics that I covered through out this blog:

-       The Philippines consists of 7,107 islands, and is broken down in three groups of islands.

-       Main regions of the Philippines: The Luzon, Mindanao, and Visayas.

-       Each of these regions contain different languages, history, religion, and traditions.

-       Each region has different influences in their ancestorical dances, display a wide array of art. 

-       Alot of these Cultural and Folk dances represents hardships and daily backbreaking tasks, that has turned into a art form, and is reflected onto the native people who live there and perform them.

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Regions of the Philippines:

Luzon: Northern most region of the Philippines.

Mindanao: Central Island of The Philippines.

Visayas: The southern most region of The Philippines.

Suites:

Maria Clara

Mountain dancing

Tribal dancing

Barrio/ Rural

Local Dance Companies in the Area:

AMERICAN CENTER OF PHILIPPINE ARTS 

Parangal Dance Company 

Barangay Dance Company

Hiyas Philippine Folk Dance Company

I hope you’ve enjoyed going through my blog! I know it was especially fun for me to write. Unfortunately, this will be my last post because I know I have shared with you basically everything that I know to the best of my ability. If you are interested in learning more about these dances and about the Philippines or are considering on joining a dance company, you are welcome to check out the links for more information. Through blogging, I feel like have really found myself intertwined with dance again, and I absolutely love it.

PILIPINO CULTURAL NIGHT (PCN)

For thousands of Filipino American college students throughout the country, it’s PCN has been an unforgettable experience. PCN stands for Pilipino Cultural Night, a yearly ritual featuring Filipino ethnic dances and culture, and skits exploring such issues as family, identity and history. For tens of thousands of Filipino American youths, being part of a PCN, either as performers or as members of the production staff, has been a rite of passage in their college career for about three decades.

Pilipino American Collegiate Endeavor, which formed at SF State over 40 years ago, went on to host the first Pilipino Cultural Night. More than 120 performers from colleges including SF State, Skyline College, City College of San Francisco, San Jose State University and others took part in the production. PCN is a big celebration for the community to take part in about the Filipino culture. PCN emphasized some of the arts closely associated with Filipino culture, highlighted by acting, dancing, singing, story writing and choreographing.

The show used not only Filipino writers and performers, but people of many different backgrounds knowledgeable of Filipino culture. As college students, we're trying to show our friends and our family back home that we actually do have a community here and we do have each other's back. I can say from experience, from PCN, we've built our own family.

Last year SF States PCN was: The Legacy of the Fallen. It was a modern-day interpretation and depiction of the passionate Filipino American and Asian American organizers of the '60s and '70s era of social change, who were inspired to change themselves and, in turn, have inspired us to move forth with progressions of our communities today. The story is rich--driven by the beauty, the struggle, the community and the resistance we all share as a people, united by one symbol: The I-Hotel. From Skits, to song, to dance, and to every single interpretation of the Filipino culture was present on the stage that night. From Modern hiphop, to contemporary, to cultural dances, and skits to song performances, and spoken words, it was truly a remarkable night.

Last year, because of my love and passion for Philippine art, I joined PCN excited to do all the dances. However, unfortunately, because of scheduling conflicts, I was only in one dance because that was the only time I was free for practice. Because I knew the choreographers, I had a 3 part solo along with a couple other girls. Through out the months of practice for the big night, I could really say that our PCN cast grew together as a whole. If it wasn’t for them, PCN wouldn’t have been such a successful show. And with out each and everyone of the cast member, my first PCN experience wouldn’t have been the same. Im definitely so exited for this years PCN!!! 

YOU SHOULD JOIN TOO!!!! You dont have to be filipino, or know how to sing or dance to be in it!!!! We just want to showcase all our talents as a community!! 

From my Company to Yours

Filipino folk dancing is more prominent here in the US more than you might think. Before joining my dance company, I never knew that there were these dance companies located here in San Francisco. Like many of the youth here in the States, I was not even aware of these amazing opportunities to join such a dance company.

While these dance companies may perform the same dances, no two are the same. The directors have different techniques and dancing styles. One company may dance a "Maria Clara" dance for example, and another might dance the same thing, however, the precision will be totally different from each other.

Some popular dance companies located in the Bay Area would include, my dance company, American Center of Philippine Arts, Parangal Dance Company, Barangay Dance Company, LIKHA Pilipino Folk Ensemble, and Hiyas Philippine Folk Dance Company. Each and every single company brings something new and different each time they are on stage.

AMERICAN CENTER OF PHILIPPINE ARTS

Located in 3 different branches, Oakland, Brentwood and Alameda, American Center ofPhilippine Arts, (ACPA) provides a unique educational and developmental platform for multidisciplinary Philippine arts through innovative, hands-on classes, collaborations, networking opportunities, and showcasing events. We strive to nurture both traditional and progressive Philippine arts to strengthen our community and ethnic identity. 

PARANGAL

Parangal DanceCompany is a Filipino Folk Dance Group base in the San Francisco Bay Area that "Aspires to Inspire". Parangal Dance Company’s mission is to give tribute to Philippine heritage by preserving and promoting ethnic attire, music, and dance through research, workshops, and performances. They aim to serve as a bridge,inspiring and connecting Filipino Americans to their roots to give them a sense of pride and identity, while educating diverse communities to foster awareness and appreciation of Philippine culture. I was first exposed to the Parangal dance company the first year of highschool. We had a Fil-Am dinner at school, and 2 members from the dance company came to perform a couple dances for us. I think i remember them doing Binasuan and a Maria Clara dance. While they were dancing, I remember looking at the woman dancing and seeing how much grace she had, and that man dancing had so much strength and demeanor. All though they performed in a small space on the floor right in front of us, they used the space quite well because their movements fill the whole entire room. And then probably a year later, my dance company had the chance to perform with them as our opening in our big show in Antioch. Seeing the little kids dance with these adults side by side was truely breath taking, because you could see the difference in our styles of dancing. 

BARANGAY

BarangayDance Company is a San Francisco-based Filipino Folk dance organization whose mission is to preserve the rich Filipino cultural heritage through the arts of Philippine folk dancing and music. Through presenting, outreach and research of Philippine folk dance and music, Barangay endeavors to promote awareness, understanding and appreciation of the Filipino culture within the communities it serves. This dance company is composed of young adults whos passion for Philippine dance is very evident in the way they perform. They are actually trying to recruit me to dance with them haha. They said that after I finish off working with my current dance company, they would love for me to join them. I actually performed with them before for a Gala dinner for Philippine Independence day 2 years ago at the City Hall here in Downtown SF. We performed Singkil, and it was pretty cool dancing with them. I was a bit nervous because, first of all, Singkil is a very big performance, and I was worried that I wasnt as good as these older dancers. But as I got comfortable with them, the director said I dance just as well as the others. I still keep in contact with alot of the dancers, and alot of them came around to help with last years PCN here at State. It was nice to be able to see those familiar faces again. 

HIYAS

Created in March of 2003, the Hiyas Philippine Folk Dance Company was formed by dance enthusiasts that enjoy the beauty of Filipino folk dance. Following the statement of Philippine national artist and folk dance research pioneer Francisca Reyes-Aquino, Let folk dances be as they are – of the folk. they believe that we can not sacrifice heritage for progress, Hiyas strives to present Filipino folk dance in its most traditional form in an era where authentic steps and movements are modernized or forgotten. The word hiyas (pronounced hee-yahs) means jewel or gem referring to how its members truly treasure Philippine folk arts and culture. Hiyas is proudly a part of the Filipino Youth Coalition, a non-profit organization geared toward cultural awareness among Filipino youth in the South Bay. I actually never got to perform with this dance company, however, my pledge sister is a member of this dance group, and Ive seen her perform with such grace and profession.  Its really cool being able to see their different dancing techniques. 

As you can see, all though they are different, these companies basically have the same mission, which is to preserve these cultural dances and share them with today's society.

If you could, which dance company would you join? Or if not, what type of company would you consider joining, whether it be cultural, ballet, or hip hop?