My Top 11 for 2011

This year ender Top 2011 list goes on my blog for this simple reason: It's very personal. It's about what was important to me, and not what was important to the rest of the dance community. Despite last year's resolution to see more dance this year, and I did see more dancing than I did in 2010, there wasn't a lot of dance to go around, and in general the dance that I saw - while not entirely bad - didn't move me.

So, you could say this is a cop-out, but my justification for this list comes from Mahatma Gandhi's most famous line: Be the change you want to see in the world. These events affected me personally, but in a way that what I need to do on a bigger scale is much, much clearer now.

1. The Company of Dance Artists
January 2011
This is the company my father launched this year. We didn't/don't perform aggressively, but I like that Dad had a lot of creative output nevertheless. And I like that we didn't pander to commercialism - the company doesn't do corporate gigs, though we were engaged for a good governance conference (all these military soldiers were our audience) and we still performed our repertoire according to the theme given us, and not some commissioned entertainment.

Also, for a bunch of people who have work outside the dance scene, that we were able to have any performances at all, and still build repertoire, is extraordinary to me. *pat on the back*

2. New York City Ballet in Hong Kong
March 2011
My birthday gift to my dad (and a gift for myself too) was to watch the New York City Ballet at the Hong Kong International Festival. It was a culminating activity that I never had since my days as a dance major in college, and it gave me so much. You can read the review I wrote in Runthru here.

3. Ang Sayaw ng Dalawang Kaliwang Paa
April - July, and December 2011
Early this year, my friend Alem Ang told me he was excited to apply for Cinemalaya with a film that incorporated feminist poetry and dance, and could I tell him if we offered packages on studio rentals so that they may shoot there? Later on, he and director Alvin Yapan asked if my dad could choreograph the dance sequences, and again later on, I was learning the movements to teach their actors. Later on, I was shooting the epic sequence at the end of the film, awake till 2 in the morning, and feeling very "So this is what showbiz is like."

Seeing the film in its entirety made me tear, because I was part of this wonderful movie that said so much about art and love and life. I don't think it made any significant insight into dance, per se, but that didn't matter to me (I know it mattered to some people).

Dad asked Alvin if he could mount the sequences as proper dances for stage performance, some of which we premiered in our annual recital on the 22nd of this month. Since I was cast in a lot of dances, I actually suggested that I could be taken out of "Litanya," then immediately taking it back because Litanya was soooo wonderful to perform. I'm hoping Alvin and Alem can get to watch these Mga Sayaw Mula sa Sayaw ng Daliwang Kaliwang Paa soon.

4. The National issue
May 2011 and beyond
I'm so over this issue, so read about it here and here. Why it is a Top 2011 event for me is not that it stirred people into fighting for equal opportunity, but it cemented my resolve that I need to be more aggressive about my stand for forming a platform for dance that will benefit more than one sector of people. I know I'm not going to achieve this right away, but I've been taking baby steps. Some of my plans are underway, and I'm really looking forward to 2012.

5. Encantada and The Nutcracker
August and November 2011
Putting these two productions together does not mean that they are similar in any way; the only thing they have in common is they were put on by resident ballet companies at the Cultural Center of the Philippines main stage. But they're in one item to me because I feel they are the best effort that I saw each company produce this year. (Of course, I did not see Ballet Philippines' Inamorata and Sleeping Beauty, nor Philippine Ballet Theatre's Romeo and Juliet, but I also could have easily not mentioned any production at all. No, I don't know what I'm arguing here, exactly.)

Encantada - While I was glad for the revival, and I applaud Judell de Guzman and company's hard work in recreating the Agnes Locsin piece d'resistance, I couldn't shake off the feeling that the older restagings were better. I realize though that it's easy to romanticize something, especially something you've been part of once upon a time, so much that new attempts to rework it will inevitably fall short. I MUST STOP DOING THAT. That said, I wish I had seen the perfectly cast Adea sisters, and would like to give the Best Performance of the Year award to Richardson Yadao for his brilliant portrayal of the lead fraile.

The Nutcracker - I have a weird relationship with Gelsey Kirkland's version for PBT. There are parts that I adore, and parts that I just find, what? Whenever we performed just the divertissement in outreach shows (back in my PBT days), I felt that we were the coolest company in the world. But when I see the entire thing, I'm always, Oh well. I guess I don't agree with some of the restaged bits, like the part of the dolls, and the mice and soldiers. This year, I wasn't too keen on there being a different Clara and Sugar Plum Fairy, as Clara's blossoming into Sugar Plum was integral to the story. But may I say, it leveled-up several notches from the 2007 staging and made me proud of how far PBT had come. This year's Nutcracker definitely deserves a Top 2011 spot.

6. Sayaw Salita, University of the Philippines
August 2011
This dance lectures series (because it seemed more a lecture series to me than a forum) deserved more attendance than it received, but it excites me because those who did attend seemed earnestly interested in the research and not just there because their professors required it. The series will continue in 2012, and there's so much potential here for the development of dance research, something that has been dying/dead in our country.

I also love that one of my mentors, Steve (Basilio Esteban Villaruz) has new insight into what needs attention in dance scholarship. His paper on the rice cycle in dance and its place in education is very informative and engaging. He had an entire hour and a half to discuss this in detail, which I am glad I was able to catch, because when he read the same paper in Malaysia the next month was only given 20 minutes, and missed discussion of a lot of important points. But then, lucky us, and hopefully there will be more chances for dissemination in the near future.

7. Asia Pacific International Dance Conference in Malaysia
September 2011

I attended this conference to inform myself of what people were looking at in dance research all over the world, with the goal of coming back to my own dance scholarship. Steve and Ruth Pison read papers here, as well as my friend Wayland Quintero, who is now based in Kuala Lumpur to pursue his own PhD. I wasn't able to send in a proposal in time to also have something to read for this conference, and subsequently also failed to send in any proposals for upcoming conferences next year. However, I'm slowly getting to what I really want to study, and that is more important to me than sending in a half-baked research topic just to be able to speak at a conference. Like I said earlier, baby steps.

8. Donna Miranda on Real Time Arts Magazine
September - October 2011
I did say it was a personal list, so while I'm happy that Donna was able to go to these laboratories in Berlin and Australia this year, I'm also happy that I was able to document the latter for an international audience. I'm very proud of this article and had a grand time interviewing Donna for it. I hope she liked it as much as I and my editor did.

Read the article here.

9. New work at UP
October 2011
There were two recitals at the UP dance program last October - Al Bernard Garcia's Sulog sa Kinabuhi and Chaya Joyce Baris and Sarah Maria Samaniego's Past Forward. The latter was also a good opportunity to pay tribute to the recitalists' teachers, Vella Damian and Lisa Macuja respectively, and was interesting to see how future generations of dance makers are working with the different genres they're studying as students and later, dance majors. I have yet to post up my review of their recital in Runthru, but will alert you soon as I do.

I was not able to skip work to see Al's Sulog sa Kinabuhi, but I'm very excited that he's trying to restage it in Quezon City in early 2012. Although a preview trailer is never an easy indication of what the whole work will look like, there is a lot here that will make you share the excitement too.

10. Investigating Cross Borders Collaborative Works in Bundanon Artists Center, Australia
November 2011
I don't know why the original writer couldn't make it, but I'm really glad that they asked me to replace him. And very, very glad that they were happy with the resulting blog. It was a very interesting two weeks and the it's some of the best work I've done so far in my life (some lang, of course hehe). You can check it out here.

11. Swan Lake
December 2011
When I was little, right before each annual dance recital, I would announce, "This is my last recital." What I meant was, I don't want to dance anymore, you can't make me, it's so stressful, I never want to do this again. This year, I've been hinting around that "This is my last recital," but for a more practical reason: I'm 37 and nothing in my body works as well as it used to. Of course, this year, I'm not as in shape as I was last year due to the fact that I spent two weeks in November observing a bunch of contemporary dance choreographers and couldn't properly get my groove back after because of work craziness.

I have to concede that what I restaged was quite awesome, according to the audience members who would say so tearfully to my mom outside the theater. I had an understandably unfortunate variation but a pretty good pas de deux and an amazing show, overall. Despite what I may think, it's never really my last recital and even when I'm in a wheelchair, I believe I will continue making dance. That is who I am, and what I want to be.

So, it wasn't a very exciting year for dance in 2011, but it was a very good year for me, and I'm looking forward to so many things in 2012.

I wrote a separate year ender for Runthru, which you can read here. Happy new year, everyone!

Digitizing my scholarship

These are files from my academic research. Or some of them, most of the most recent ones or the ones I feel are most important. They are so NOT ORGANIZED the way I want them to be. They are also collecting dust in that corner of my room and each time I have to look for a reference, I have to do a little spring cleaning first.

Since the new year is upon us and people are making resolutions and projects, my 2012 project is to digitize all my reference materials. I have my work cut out for me, as you will see below:





These are the books by my bed that I've been attempting to read. Haven't picked them up recently because I got a Kindle for Christmas.




I like being digital, but there are things I know I will keep physical copies of (the books beside my bed). The rest of my room, though? Digital, here we come.

Have a happy new year, everyone :)

Eve of the Show

By this time tomorrow night, I would be taking my bows. Kinda excited. More than kinda.

Recital season (or another post about being so busy)

I arrived from Australia over two weeks ago, and I was supposed to keep updating the Cross Borders Collaborative blog, but I actually still have the current entry I'm working on in the exact place I left it while editing the article on the 8-hour flight on the way here and have not added to it since. This is because 2 big things have been happening to me lately: 1. We (the telecom whose online portals I manage) are launching an "improved" main portal on December 13, and 2. We (my family's ballet school) are having our annual recital on the 22nd.

(There is also the matter of a quite disturbing conversation I had with somebody about the state of dance in my country, which really did bother me, so much that it would have thrown me into depression, or at the very least, ennui, had I the luxury of time. But I don't.)

This weekend was crunch time on several levels, and it was more action packed than the A-Team movie, but it was only after I read an annoying email regarding day job issues that I had to take stock of how much this weekend rocked. Rehearsals are going very well, and unlike the last two weekends which found me feeling like I was dying with every attempt to do anything more complicated than a port de bras, I got a lot of my strength back. I don't think I'm in tiptop shape yet, but I'm getting there.

Retiring from dancing, or at the very least from ballet, has crossed my mind this last few weeks, especially when I can't complete a decent renverse, or when my back gives up in mid-execution of any step, or when I wake up really sore and exhausted the next day. Add in that bothersome conversation I mentioned a few paragraphs ago, wherein I was made to feel that this style of dance that I was killing myself for was not worth anybody's time (will blog about that another time... Or remain a secret with me, let's see how I feel eventually). Ballet is really a demanding art form but I realize that there ARE rewards. Last Sunday, in flats, I managed to escape a pas de deux rehearsal with my brother because he deemed it more important to rehearse the part in the ballet where I reveal that I, the black swan, am not the queen of the swans the Prince fell in love with and have successfully thwarted their romance forever. As we went through this mime, I remembered why I danced/dance, and not even why I dance ballet, but why I dance at all.

Yesterday, we finally run the Black Swan pas de deux en pointe, which we haven't done since I arrived from Australia. It wasn't perfect but it felt awesome. Yesterday's and today's rehearsals were quite awesome, too. There's still a lot of work to be done, but awesome still.

As I write this, I'm propped up in bed to strategically stretch my sore lower back, and my legs are throbbing and threatening to fall off from my hips. Retiring is still a reality I will have to eventually face, but I'm hoping not so soon. In light of these last few weeks that have been unbelievably crazy and stressful, and in light of disturbing conversations that make you question your life's directions, I want to remember how happy I was this weekend, as it was the kind of happiness that obliterates bad energy and makes negative events not matter. In life, I've learned, there's just so much out there that makes you forget.

Busy at Bundanon

I arrived at Bundanon on November 14, but it's been a seriously busy last few days. You can keep up with us (though lord knows I've not done that yet haha) at the official Bundanon Dance lab blog at http://crossborderscollaborative.wordpress.com, if you're interested in how the Investigating Cross Cultural Borders Collaborations is going.

And since I was really busy, I was only able to put up the article on Philippine Ballet Theatre's Nutcracker last night. The production starts today, so do rush to CCP after you take a little scan of this: http://www.runthru.com.ph/home/news/philippine-ballet-theatre-nutcracker-2011.

It's hot in Bundanon today, and everyone's down by the river while I'm here, blogging. Will get this done with and join them soon. Cheers!

Good evening, Australia

So I landed in Sydney tonight and spent forever at Immigration (it wasn't me, it was the volume of people) but I'm finally at my in betweener Hotel Pensione on George Street for meetings before the trip to Bundanon on Monday morning (where the Crossing Borders dance lab will be held).

While I have nothing to report (except I have arrived, weary yet safe and enthusiastic for the upcoming activities), I'll discuss some of the interesting things I've accomplished this week.

First of all, realizing that I would be missing the upcoming Nutcracker of Philippine Ballet Theater on the 19th, I stopped by Meralco last Wednesday evening to watch rehearsals and basically keep up with artistic director, Ron Jaynario. It's been a good year so far for PBT, with the highest headcount (audience turnout) this season. So proud of the company, especially without aggressive marketing. The ballet is shaping up well, with a strong corps made up of both newbies and relatively more senior company members (for example, Tiffany Mangulabnan is Dewdrop in Act 2, but is also a snowflake in Act 2) and no airs about rank or privelege, which is something PBT has always been known for.

Anyway, I'll be finishing the pre-show feature on PBT by tomorrow and will have it up on Runthru Online soon after.

I'm also getting stuff done for the Projects Committee of World Dance Alliance-Philippines. No official announcements yet, but if you're interested, you can send me an email through joelle.jacinto@gmail.com.

Before I go, I'll just share a short anecdote about going through immigration in the Philippines. On my departure card, I wrote that my occupation was "Writer." My immigrations officer asked me what publication I wrote for and I said Runthru Dance magazine. The officer beside her started asking me where can she get my magazine and that her daughter loved dance. I gave her the website address, but kind of in shock. I would never expect that, not in a million years. It made my day.

Hope you had a good day with dance in it, too.

Donna Miranda on RealTime Arts magazine

I love getting magazines in the mail, especially if it has something I wrote in it. As you can imagine, this only happens when I write for an international publication. I mean, to this day, I still haven't seen my interview with the late Ramon Obusan for the Philippines Yearbook in 2005. Anyway, last Monday, I got the latest issue of RealTime Arts Magazine in the mail because my interview with contemporary dance artist Donna Miranda was published, just in time for her 3-week residency at the Campbelltown Arts Centre in Sydney, Australia.

You can read the interview online, which is how I usually enjoy Real Time: www.realtimearts.net/article/105/10441

In our interview, we talk about how "opportune" (the word I used in my article) that she was invited by Goethe Institut to attend a 10-day workshop in Bundanon in New South Wales shortly after her Campbelltown residency. You can imagine my surprise when last week, I was invited to observe this dance lab and write about it. Yes, precisely why I'm getting my blogging skills out of storage.

It's quite interesting how the universe unfolds, isn't it?

Mabuhay muli

Reanimating this blog, which I've been purposefully neglecting for some time, under the pretense that I'm so busy yadda yadda. I do realize that I have previously updated the blog to say how I'm going to do more dance writing and focus on more dance scholarship, yadda yadda, and then I don't blog again for a few weeks/months. And so, this is not a blog post about getting serious about dance writing and/or scholarship again, although I do exactly have those plans. But no, must not blog about that.

I must say, however, that I've been asked to attend a choreographer's workshop, not as a choreographer (haha.. Ahem) but as an observer who will document the proceedings with a blog. I am quite honored they thought of me, though I was probably engaged for my more popular published writings rather than my blog posts, because as all of you will note here, I have not been blogging much except to say, "Hello blogosphere, I am going to start blogging more because I'm going to be more serious about dance writing from now on..."

That said, I have been seriously writing about dance, more so this year than in 2010, as you will note with how updated Runthru magazine is this year compared to last year. And I've kinda relaxed the last couple months, but I'm quite dedicated again. Check out the proof here: runthru.com.ph.

I won't say I'm going to blog more regularly from now on. Instead, hey, mabuhay. :D

--
In essence, "Mabuhay muli" is "Mabuhay again." Of course, the actual translation for "mabuhay" is "Go live," but I'm using "Mabuhay" as that phrase we keep using in this blog. Trying to be witty.

A word on being National

It was a hectic last few weeks for the world of dance, with summer season coming to an end. Particularly the last week, as Ballet Philippines' bid for National ballet company status came to an unexpected possible reality with the help of Sen. BongBong Marcos. Artistic Director Paul Morales noticed a furor over this piece of news on Facebook - most of it negative - and requested a meeting with all interested to discuss where they were coming from, given that a senate hearing was scheduled last Tuesday, May 24 (but was moved to sometime this month).

Mr. Morales will be releasing a position paper on this bill soon, which you should read whether your concern for BP being named as National is positive or negative. In the meantime, I can only say that while I wish a bill was created instead to benefit the entire dance community vs just one dance group, I wish Morales, Ms Margie Moran-Floreindo and Ballet Philippines the best of luck. In the spirit of Alice Reyes and how BP was born in the first place, they forged ahead and dictated their destiny, which I respect. I hope that someone who feels just as strongly for Philippine Ballet Theatre will do the same.

I would like to emphasize that I am not on Morales' side in this issue. I'm not taking sides in the first place. But I can understand concerns such as being asked to cut down on Rehearsal Hall days, and being made to pay for overtime use of facilities you are supposed to enjoy and not worry about as a resident dance group.

However, as I've already mentioned, I'm a bigger believer in equal opportunity for everyone. If the government will be involved in arts, the assigned agency/agencies should be better managed and not self-serving. I know that some who are vocal about the BP National bill have been crusaders for the improvement of government funding for the arts. Sometimes, though, I have to ask if we didn't aim high enough, or why didn't more people do enough. Because now that someone dared ask for the height of what the government could give them, we are so quick to accuse them of it.

Morales and BP supporters are quick to point out that in having this bill passed, they will be establishing a platform for other groups in the future. I'm not too sold on this; the Bayanihan has been a National Folk Dance Company for some time now - a platform has already been established. In this light, I think the platform must be re-thought.

Ultimately, we cannot blame BP for wanting better working conditions, compensation and accommodations. Instead, let's go and seek that for ourselves as well.

Happy International Dance Day

I danced once this week. Once. I didn't even warm up, I just jumped into rehearsal, and it lasted all of 15 minutes. Then I cooled down. I arrived late as I had deliverables at work, and the problem with having a full-time job that isn't dance-related is it's quite difficult to squeeze a lot of dancing in, especially when you'd rather spend your free time passed out at home.

For example, today was the royal wedding and while everyone was glued to their TV/live stream, I was able to leave the office relatively early. Today was also International Dance Day, and there was a street show in Cubao and a gala performance in Quezon City. But instead of heading to these venues, I went home and vegged out in front of the TV.

It was a trying week for me, actually, a lot of office politics, deadlines, coordination, etc. It would depress me except I got a little bit of dancing in the middle of all the craziness. I remember when I was a few months into the full-time job and set to go on a Visayan tour with PBT and had to rush to rehearsal straight from work. I'd be so weary from work, I'd wonder where I would get the strength to rehearse after. But as soon as I stepped into the studio and started dancing, the weariness would all disappear.

The same thing happened yesterday. It was just some arm movements and simple steps and some pretzel rolls and it felt AWESOME - all fifteen minutes of it.

Being able to do this only once this week is still quite sad, but I want to tell myself that each week is different and next week I'll get more dancing in, and maybe even more the week after that. Maybe not so much dancing the week after that, but maybe it will pick up again in the next week.

What's important is that I was able to dance once. In the middle of a very difficult week. And on the eve of International Dance Day, too. It reminds me of what I should be grateful for.

Hope you had dance in your life this week too. Happy International Dance Day everyone.

Read this year's IDD message over at www.runthru.com.ph.

Runthru 5 Coming Soon (but Later) and other Excitements

No apologies, just announcing that the next print issue of Runthru is coming later than expected. Was supposed to launch it last January, but there was just too much going on and now it's March. As I have to reconfigure the editorial line up, as well as reset the printing schedule, best for us to say it won't be coming out any time soon.

In the meantime, check our Online magazine for news and reviews. I promise I have loads to put up this coming week. There's a review of Gaelle Piton's documentary on Philippine dance, some thoughts after seeing Jerome Robbins' Dances at a Gathering at the Hong Kong Arts Festival early this month, and I may talk about a couple of local shows as well.

In between, I plan to start publishing the mini-reviews I received for the Best of 2010 feature that's meant for a January issue of Runthru Print. The rest of the magazine can wait, but this part of it cannot. If you still want to contribute your own nominations for the Best of 2010, do email me at joelle.jacinto@gmail.com.

I'm currently reading Jennifer Homan's Apollo's Angels, which is a very thick, very exciting history of ballet. Not dance, but specifically ballet. I am ecstatic over this because I've been planning to publish my master's thesis as a book on Philippine ballet history, so I have an instant affinity for it as we share the same goals and aspirations in dance writing. Also, when I was supposed to be writing my dissertation on cultural identity in Philippine dance, my mentor at the time advised me to differentiate what makes American ballet American, and Russian ballet Russian and how is it different from French ballet, and so on, until I can find what makes Philippine ballet Filipino. That was such a difficult task! This book makes the task more exciting, though.

Hope there's lots of excitement in your life and dance as well.

TEAM Dance Studio at CCP's Pasinaya 2011

So, the year got off to a good start, with my family successfully launching a new project. We performed at CCP's Pasinaya Open House Festival as TEAM Dance Studio's Company of Dance Artists. So TEAM is the school, and CODA is the performing arm. We're planning, among other things, for a concert in August to celebrate TEAM Dance Studio's 30th anniversary.

We performed new works by Eli Jacinto: a work in progress called Kailaliman, the relatively new In the Sisterhood (see photo) and an extended Metropolis, which is Dad's tribute to the city where he started to develop his choreographic style.

The festival itself was quite chaotic but I loved how there were more and more dance groups at the Rehearsal Hall this year, and how people had difficulty lining up for the groups they wanted to see because there were too many people already lined up before them. That's not usually a good thing, I know, but having a big audience for dance, under any circumstance, is always really awesome.

If you were there, thanks so much for watching :) And I hope you see get to see more of us this year.

Happy new year!

2010 was an awesome year. Here's to more dance and more dance writing for 2011!

Cheers,

Joelle Jacinto