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thesis journal entry # 6

We were informed that we're performing with another Ballet group and three folk dance groups. The Philippine Normal University's folk dance troupe, the Kislap Sining Dance Troupe, is supposed to join us, but they don't seem to be anywhere in sight. We blocked on the stage after lunch and were given a chance to rest (5am flight) either in the hotel or in the venue, which is the CAP theatre. Some of the dancers decided to go back to the hotel, others decided it was better to stay at the theater rather than move around too much, making rest bitin because we had to be back at the theater in an hour and a half anyway. I stayed at the theatre for that reason. And because I wanted to watch the other groups rehearse.

I'm assuming they're two different folk dance groups, but it's hard to tell because there's so many of them and there isn't any particular delineation between them. The small woman who welcomed us at the airport and the head of the PNU troupe rehearsed each dance, so it was hard to tell if the people there all belonged to just one group or the small woman was in charge of the other two groups.

One group performed a recognizable dance, of a group of girls carrying large baskets and woven cloths over their heads (I was not able to get the name of this dance, most probably of our highland peoples). I had seen this exact dance previously performed by the PNU group and the difference between the performers was staggering.

As I recall, the PNU group executed all their steps in unflinching unison - each step performed according to exact specifics: where they hold their arms, the measurement of how big or small each shoulder shrug should be, the length of the strides, the tilt of their heads. I'm assuming that this is because the dancers of PNU are training to be teachers and you can see that they are learning their dances not only to perform them but to be able to teach them to other people. Meanwhile, the groups present today had most likely come from the local schools and probably danced in their school's folk dance club or were taking it for PE. Or something similar.

The regional troupe who danced this highland dance with the baskets (from Holy Cross College) did make their own efforts to dance together and to keep their lines but you could see the awkwardness of the steps from lack of training and rehearsals and that they moved according to how they understood the step on their own. Larry Gabao, the head of the PNU troupe, had them rehearsing this dance over and over, which is probably what he would have demanded from his own group.

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It's a strange "festival" this year. It seemed more like a recital with PBT as guest dancers. We were joined by three ballet schools - children!!! - and three folk dance groups, none of which were the PNU. Turns out the PNU's participation was cancelled at the last minute, probably to make way for the local groups. So the three folk dance groups were the Holy Cross College dance troupe, The University of the Immaculate Conception dance troupe and the Madayaw Dance Ensemble.

I'm thinking then that it wasn't even a real festival, at least not like how it was last year, a celebration of the different kinds of dance in the Philippines, with more professional participants. Then again, I doubt that the audience minded.

Speaking of the audience minding: in the La Bayadere Grand Pas, we three variation girls (myself, Betsy and Tasha) did really well except for one glitch. At the end of our variation, we do a single, then double lame duck to the right, and finish the dance with our arms up in 5th position. Tasha got suddenly confused as to where to put her arms during the turn (typical of Tasha to suddenly get confused in the middle of executing the step) and it threw her turn off. Since Betsy could see her, she got confused as to whether Tasha was right and she was wrong (typical of Betsy) and was almost thrown off her turn, wobbling on her finish. They were both in my line of vision and their confusion distracted me in mid-turn (typical of me to notice something going wrong while dancing) and it threw me off. Because of this, the audience were confused about that entire mess and almost didn't applaud. They did clap a little bit, mercy claps. It was beyond funny.

Otherwise, we ballet dancers performed really well and were quite well received. The other groups were excited about the show the next day and a lot of them kept asking me "Sasayaw rin kayo bukas?"

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Kiddie Anecdote # 1
Before Vinta, I was standing beside this little kid waiting for her cue to go onstage. She pulls my arm and asks me, "Ano sayaw niyo?" I said, "Manood ka nalang," because I didn't want to try to explain Vinta to the little kid waiting for her cue. She then asked, "Pero anong tawag sa sayaw niyo?" So I replied, "Vinta." She screwed up her nose and said, "Ano yon?" Maybe Vintas don't sail the Davao waters anymore? Or maybe they call it somewhere else there? Or maybe I'm talking to a little child?

Hehe, "ano yon" indeed.

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Kiddie Anecdote # 2
After the show, we were all trying to dress up in this makeshift changing space, I was the last one to get out of my tutu because I was busy coordinating that the curtain that closes around us remain closed. Because of that, I was the only one still in a tutu when one of the Mommies called in and asked if any one was still in costume and could that person please pose with her daughter for pictures to inspire the kid to continue taking dance lessons.

Of course that had to be me. The other girls were laughing their heads off as I went to comply with this request.

It was cute: the little girl I was posing with was so excited to be posing with a real live ballerina. When that was done, I wasn't - other girls wanted their picture taken with me too. It was so funny. This must be how a mascot feels like.