The festival opened in Davao on Feb. 8 with the Bayanihan, Leyte Dance Theater, Quezon City Ballet and the Kathara Dance Theater Collective performing. Marikina caught sight of Ballet Philippines, Ballet Manila, the Chameleon Dance Company, UP Dance Company, UE Dance Troupe and Sining Kumintang ng Batangas on Feb. 15. Pasig presented Philippine Ballet Theater, the Quezon City Performing Arts, PNU Kislap Sining Dance Troupe, Quezon City Ballet and the Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group on Feb. 19. Cebu featured the Philippine Ballet Theater, Powerdance, PNU Kislap Sining Dance Troupe, Hwa Yi Ethnic Dance Center, the University of San Carlos Dance Troupe and Dancesport Kids on Feb. 21. Iligan will showcase Ballet Philippines, Bayanihan, and the UE Dance Troupe on Feb. 28. Due to scheduling difficulties, the performing groups assigned to some places may be subject to change.
It has always been the objective of the NCCA dance committee to develop an awareness and appreciation in dance, and to upgrade the standard of dance education in the country. One way to achieve this is to expose artists, students and audiences to different performances and different styles in dancing. It was decided by the committee that the Sayaw Pinoy cultural event be extended to the provinces instead of being restricted to a single site. This makes possible a broad exposure of the varying approaches of choreographers to as many people as possible.
As art reflects the country’s social and political state, it is not surprising that we have the Ocho Ochos and Ispageti Pababas ruling the attention of the masses. Our national consciousness has sunk to a level mirrored by slipshod pedestrian gyrations, which hardly encompass the Filipino soul. The movements might be amusing but definitely not witty. What these dances reflect is our despair and perhaps our escape from it.
On top of this, we have begun to call artistic projects rackets. Artists would then be called racketeers. Racketeers are persons who engage in fraudulent business dealings. No wonder we produce works of little substance. Even the labeling has gone immoral.
I have observed that creative artists are no longer given the time to seclude themselves to ponder, weigh and analyze their works. Everything is fast paced, MTV-style, to earn quick bucks. The what-can-I-do-to-be-different intention does not penetrate the intellect. Everything ends up being superficial. Nowadays, artists work to earn, not to satisfy an obsession. I don’t blame them. They have to eat. Sadly, art is about everything else but money, and yet many artists find themselves haggling in order to survive. Some even have to beg for their fees from the very people who should be the first to respect them.
I beg all producers to give time to their projects – time for the artists to think, time to improve, time to grow. If you have a project, give it a year to mature in the creative minds of your staff. Expensive? You’ll earn more if your work is excellent.
In the Philippines, we hardly have anything left to be proud of. But, we have the Lea Salongas and Manny Pacquiaos waving our banners worldwide. They are the Filipinos puffing up our deflated egos as a nation, and yet artists and athletes are mostly pushed to the bottom of the government’s priority list.
For as long as I’m writing, this thought will always pop out of my articles: Art is food for the soul. It won’t take too much effort to look around and see how hungry the Filipino soul is. Again and again, I will write this until it spills out of our deaf ears. This concept has to be said repeatedly, like a mantra, for it to infiltrate our ocho ocho brains.