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. Finally, for over a year I have dedicated lots of time to think about the project. I honestly thought the theme "Global Warming" is a challenge but I do have several ideas. I have been involved with "Earth Savers DREAMS Ensemble" a theater company in the Philippines that promotes and educates people about saving our environment in many different aspects.

The Mountain

It was supposed to be just a story about a Volcano erupted and caused a cataclysm. Working on the concept I realized my maturity understanding the power of performing arts. I then asked myself... "How can I make this ballet more powerful and compelling to people?" I dug deep into my past and finally something good came out from growing up in a third world country.

Back growing up in the Philippines I was assigned 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. My family belong to a lower class level in the Philippines but when I saw them I felt fortunate compare to them. The majority of this children could not afford to go to school and dedicated their lives segregating recyclable material they can sell from the landfill.

June 1991, I woke up early in the morning and went outside to do my everyday ritual. The street, our home, and my neighborhood was covered in white dust. I did not understand what it was and I looked at my mom and she said it is Lahar. Mt. Pinatubo erupted yesterday and brought this white ash to our land. 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 my contemplation on the family who lost their loved ones and the entire village.

These two different mountains urged me to create The Mountain.

We do not realize how we trash our climate. 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 humanity. 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 what has 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. The goal is zero waste.