2009 Metro DC Dance Awards

The Annual Metro DC Dance Awards were held at the Terrace Theatre of the Kennedy Center on September 14th. I was stunned to win the "Outstanding Individual Performance" award for my performance of "Nocturne Monologue" by Jason Hartley at the Kennedy Center last year. What made this more special was that this award was presented jointly to myself and my fellow CityDance Ensemble dancer Delphina Parenti for her performance in "On a Train Heading South" in CityDance Ensemble's "The Songwriters" at the Music Center at Strathmore. I honestly went to the awards ceremony to enjoy the show, mingle with friends, see new and different artists and have an excuse to dress up nicely. Nonetheless, it was such a great honor to be recognized by the Washington DC Metropolitan area dance community.

Too Good To Be True!

Whew! After a long wait, I finally premiered my very first huge dance, "The Mountain" at the Millennium Stage of the Kennedy Center. It was an amazing feeling seeing how people responded to the dance, with both nights receiving standing ovations and there being standing room only because we ran out of space.

To be honest, it hadn't struck me on the night what had just happened, but now after a couple of days, it has finally sunk in and it's amazing: I have just finished my very first show and performed my first full length choreography. Not only that, I was honored to have the Ambassador of the Philippines present, His Excellency Willy C. Gaa, who opened the show with a beautiful speech and presented me with the "Pearl Cultural Heritage Award".

This opportunity has changed my life for the better and I am still trying to come to terms with everything that has happened. I am still pinching myself to see if I'm dreaming.

None of this could have happened without the support and guidance of my colleagues at CityDance Ensemble, the Kennedy Center and the Philippine Embassy, who have never failed to be there at my side. I also have to give my heartfelt thanks to the Filipino community who have united to give their support for "The Mountain", and to all my family and friends, whom have kept me going throughout the entire process.

Finally, now that the premiere is over, I am going to carry on doing what I love - keep on dancing in the music and see wherever the tide takes me.

Salamat.

The Premiere

The premiere of my work "The Mountain" is fast approaching. I can feel the tension slowly building up, and all I can do is to pace myself. When I decided to take the path of choreography, I knew for sure that it will not come easy. I was damn right! You have to deal with a lot of things, from costumes, research, creating materials, meetings, and to promoting my art. I find that building your own website is a great vehicle to reach out to all of you. So now, I have just built a new website for my piece "The Mountain."

Please check it out: www.volcanodance.org

You will find good information about the show leading to the world premiere at The Kennedy Center this coming September 10-11, 2009.

Collaborators of The Mountain

The Mountain is my first huge project. I wasn't planning it to be huge but the forces of nature is offering myriad of great possibilities. For starters, the music for my piece is being composed by Domenico Vicinanza. He is a Scientist/Composer/Everything who is currently working for DANTE (Delivery of Advanced Network Technology to Europe). My amazing director Paul Gordon Emerson found out about him and forwarded me a clip of his work. Domenico invented Sonification. He can turn the rumblings of the volcano into music and the result is phenomenal. Later, I met up with him in Cambridge during my trip to The UK last December to talk about the possibility of collaboration. He was thrilled about "The Mountain" and talked about incorporating his colleague Paolo Cimmino, a percussionist and a great vocalist. I was scared because their involvement will make it huge and I wasn't sure if I can handle it but his excitement brought more confidence to my part. There's no way to hold back when somebody believes in you. It doesn't stop there my friend, CityDance got in touch with The Philippine Embassy in Washington DC and they have been showing tremendous support and just got us the authentic tubular skirts (Malong). It's all thanks to Robert Borje (Cultural Attache of The Philippines) who made all of this possible. Of course, CityDance Ensemble and CityDance II. They all have been very supportive and has been giving their best. Our Rehearsal Director, Christopher Morgan has been backing me up in every steps of the way. It's hard to dance and choreograph at the same time and he has been my second eye. Last, my director Paul Gordon Emerson. He found me the right composer, he gave me an opportunity and he found me a gong for my piece.

Please come and see the work in progress of The Mountain along with pieces created by Christopher Morgan and Paul Gordon Emerson.

Saturday, March 14 @ 8pm

Saturday, March 15 @ 7pm

Strathmore Music Center
room 405

Tickets are on sale. For more info visit www.citydance.net

February 5th

February 5th was the luckiest day of my life. That afternoon, I got a call from the Local Dance Commissioning Project (LDCP). I have been awarded a grant to premier "The Mountain" at The Millennium Stage of The Kennedy Center this coming fall. The good news didn't stop there, my Director Paul called me that night and told me to mark this day February 5th! because aside from winning the grant, he has just been notified that I was chosen as one of the finalists for The Mayor's Arts Awards for Outstanding Emerging Artist of Washington DC. The winner will be determined on March 23rd and all the fingers in my hands are crossed. It was a great feeling to be honest because 2 days before this event I twisted my sacrum during the re-staging of Paul Taylor's piece "Last Look." I was petrified and was scared to death. I literally could not stand up and can barely walk. Even after I got out of the physical therapy I thought it will take me months to recover. Miraculously, I was able to dance on February 5th, lucky day, hu?

The Making of "The Mountain"

I have been asked by CityDance Ensemble to create a piece for our annual take on Global Warming. This year's theme is Carbon. I proposed in 2007 but the timing was a bit off and the repertoire has been decided but my director was kind enough to have it considered for the following year. I honestly thought the theme "Global Warming" is a challenge, but having the entire year to work on the concept I found that I do have several ideas.

The Mountain

It was just supposed to be a story about a volcano eruption caused a cataclysm, but then I asked myself... "How can I make this ballet more powerful and compelling to people?" instead of creating a story, i chose to tell my own.

When I was a teenager, I volunteered to conduct a dance workshop for children who resides in the landfill called "Smoky Mountain" (it got its infamous nickname from the flammable methane mist coming out from the dump site), the majority of these children could not afford to go to school and dedicated their lives earning money as garbage picketers. My family is part of the lower class community in the Philippines but when I learned about the livelihood of these children I felt fortunate compare to them

June 1991, I woke up early in the morning found my neighborhood covered in thick white ash. I did not understand what it was until my mom told me about Mt. Pinatubo eruption. This strato-volcano is only 55 miles away from where we live. I was only ten but I remember vividly the feeling of ashes in my hands and I couldn't help thinking of the families who lost their loved ones and the entire village.

These two different mountains urged me to create The Mountain.

We don't realize how we trash our environment. Simple life does not exist anymore, it is human nature to just take as much as we can and never mind the consequences. From never ending production of new computers, cellphones, plastics, toys, cutting more trees to produce furnitures and other things, we forget what happens to them when we do not want them anymore. Common alternatives are Incinerators and Landfill. From what I know none of them are safe for the humanity and the environment. Smoky Mountain was shut down in 1995, but the huge amount of methane trapped in the former Smoky Mountain could explode if triggered and will destroy many lives.

These inspired me to create "The Mountain." I hope that my dance will engender awareness and urge people to educate themselves about proper waste disposal and recycling.