Until a few years ago, Filipinos have been better known as good singers than dancers. Some say that because we are innately reserved people, many Pinoys are not into making big movements especially in public, unless they are labeled “magaslaw.”
But as times change, so have our dancers improved. This we realized last March 2 at the Resorts World Manila (RWM) when the Halili-Cruz Ballet Company in partnership with the National Commission Culture and the Arts presented the culminating event of “Sayaw Pinoy 2013” during which several other awarded dance troupes (Next to Innocence, Lahing Batangan, Junior System Dance Crew, etc.) showed off their skills in different kind of dances from cha cha to hip hop, and even ballet to binasuan (a dance that requires balancing a glass filled with liquid on the head).
Watching these dancers makes one realize that each dance requires different skills. Ballet is all about grace and form while hip hop entails a thorough understanding of the music in order to sync movements (many of which are acrobatics!) to every detail of the musical arrangement. Binasuan requires concentration and a strong center of gravity while cha cha delivers flair, if not a bit of flirtation. It was fun and the audience went home thinking that Filipinos do have a strong tradition in dance, after all, and that the heart we put into every step, whether big or small, is filled with passion and expression.
And how professional they were! At one point, one of the glasses fell from a dancer’s head yet the show went on. It was only until the production turned off the lights and music did the dancers stop. Production, but of course, had the safety of the dancers in mind foremost, so they’d rather repeat the number when the stage had been cleaned up than have them step on the shards of glass and hurt themselves.
While modern dance is about swagger and even humor, traditional dances tell a story about everyday life and customs and traditions. One dance we saw, it seems, was about courtship done through mimicking movements of ducks. Another is about the roles of husband and wife in those days in that the male goes hunting while the female prepares food at home. Still, another seems to be a reenactment of a tribal war, with lots of weapons a-clashing and a-clanging.
“Sayaw Pinoy 2013” was presented after a month long tour of more than 45 performances in the different venues in Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao and the National Capital Region. Under the leadership of Shirley Halili-Cruz, “Sayaw Pinoy” has brought together more than 85 established and emerging dance groups in one stage to present the virtuosity of the Filipino dancers in all the dance genres.