After a change of workshop schedule, the Cebu Colleges and Universities Choreographers Association finally pushed through with its fourth multicultural dance workshop last November 27 to 29 at the Day-as gym.
This year’s theme is “Steps and Sounds of the Asia-Pacific,” where eight dances were introduced to workshop participants who were very eager to learn the new dances.
The dances include Tari Piring Minangkabau, a dance from Sumatra, Indonesia; Rabum Taree from Thailand; Tarian Wau Bulan, a kite dance from Kelantan, Malaysia; Lamvung from Laos; Robam Konsegsnear from Kampong, Cham, Cambodia; Mua Non La from Vietnam; and Singapore Swing/Rasa Sayang Line dance. The workshop also included a Tango dance session and a lecture on strategies in teaching authentic-based dances.
The workshop’s participants were mainly Physical Education students of Southwestern University, private school teachers and Department of Education teachers from the province, who made extra effort to participate in the said dance workshop despite the tiring week due to the provincial meet participation in Lilo-an.
“We had no regrets of coming over,” said the participants from Camotes Island. “We are so eager to perform some of the dance routines for our upcoming teachers’ Christmas party this month such that we might as well buy clothing materials for our costumes while we’re in the mainland,” they said.
As for the officers of CCUCA, headed by the visionary president Ceasar Amir F. Nimor (UC Biology department), the workshop was very fulfilling since only in rare occasions are these dances introduced in the mainstream and yet the knowledge shared opened up the minds of workshop participants that there are a lot of multicultural dances out there that needs to be introduced and shared. “It’s about time they get exposed to these kinds of dances after, of course, being exposed to our own cultural dances,” Nimor said.