Jason Garcia Ignacio

2009 Metro DC Dance Awards

2009-09-15T19:33:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-09-13T19:31:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-12T16:45:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-11T14:52:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-11T14:17:00.000-07:00

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"

2009-02-09T14:03:00.000-08:00

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.

October Blast!

2008-11-01T18:42:00.000-07:00

October has been a lucky month for me, I was named by Washingtonian Magazine as one of the "Top 20 Show Stopper Artists" of Washington DC. and our season at The Kennedy Center was successful.

Check my newly renovated website for the latest news and my photo gallery (photos courtesy of Paul Gordon Emerson).

Almost 8 Years

2008-08-02T14:27:00.000-07:00

I came here in January of 2001 and I haven't been back home since, why? for so many reasons. First, most of the Filipinos I have met would advice me not to go back for it will be hard for me to come back (mostly because they probably had a bad experience), second, going back to Manila will cost so much money!!! and applying for visa takes awhile. Anyways, a week ago I finally reunited with my older brother "Marion" in Lake Las Vegas. Besides teaching ballet and choreographing dance he is also a Choreographer/Coach for the Aerobics Gymnastics team in the Philippines that brought him here. I was psyched to see him and both felt emotional about it. Strip Vegas was fun but I just wish that he could have more time to stay so I could show him around NYC and Washington DC, he would have loved it here.

Season Finale

2008-06-13T21:37:00.000-07:00

I have been waiting for this night to be over. Tonight was our last show for the season and the company will resume in September. 4 days ago my body starts to rest automatically, somehow it knows the season is over and it's telling me to rest but I had to fight it until tonight. I kept my energy level high every time because I know once I close my eyes then it will be over, I had a choice to slept for the whole day and I chose not to because I know my body will be relaxed and it will kill the momentum I have been building for the past few weeks for this last show.

We had a show at Strathmore Music Center tonight. The theater was packed and we can hear them from backstage. We're all a bit nervous because of Folksay, I was nervous I had to pass gas loudly before I entered the stage. Lol. Folksay turned out good, we've been listening to the audience's response to Folksay, at first I thought they're not getting it but couple of laughs later I thought they finally got it. The next dance was "Born To Run" by Paul Gordon Emerson, I wasn't supposed to be in the ballet but something happened and one of the dancers could not do it in last minute. Our schedule was so hectic that day and learning the piece was not even in the schedule so I literally had to learn the duet "I ain't got you" in less than 30mins, We run it once the next day then tech it the next day and finally performed it tonight. Most of the people I have spoken tonight loved it and had a laugh, they were actually laughing when we were performing it, and for me that's a fulfillment. The next one was "On a Train Heading South", this one is special Bruno is leaving the company for NYU, he got a full scholarship to do his Masters. We finish the dance with a duet together, this duet is one of my favorite because Bruno and I have this amazing chemistry and we both share the stage, What I mean is most of the time when you see two people dancing one of them will out dance the other instead of dancing for each other. I will miss dancing with him but he has to follow his dreams and I know he'll succeed.

Folksay

2008-06-02T18:20:00.000-07:00

It has been a busy two weeks at Citydance Ensemble. We've been reconstructing a 1942 "Sophie Maslow's" masterpiece "Folksay". You would think that an old dance would be easy to perform but I guess I underestimated it. Folksay is not easy at all, it's very athletic and it really challenges the strength of your thigh muscles but nevertheless the dance is fun. The dance has a hint of Graham Technique which made it easier for me to adapt, the only part that challenges me is the solo where I have to tap dance (I've never tap in my entire life) while holding flowers in my right hand. I am supposed to be the guy that just won a lottery and get all the girls.

Next week is the last week of our season. We'll be performing at Strathmore Music Center on Friday June 13th, all the info is in my website under the calendar. To learn more about the process of reconstructing Folksay please visit the company's blog where you can find videos of our rehearsals and interviews from the dancers and our coaches http://powerpassionpurpose.blogspot.com/

Presentation vs. Representation

2008-05-14T16:34:00.000-07:00

There are two different kinds of dancers, one is representational the other one is presentational.Which one is me? I'll get to that later. Presentational; these are the dancers you mostly see on tv, the best example is "So you think you can dance". These dancers mostly called themselves "Competition Dancers". Their characteristics are most likely to impress the viewers with their abilities, they are crowd pleasers. Representational; these are the dancers who don't care about what they can do, they merely want to represent something or somebody or themselves, it talks and communicate to people, some are political, etc.

I think I'm kinda both. I prefer to represent or a combination of both but most choreographers will use me to execute exuberant movement on stage just because I can. This happens to me most of the time and sometimes I feel like I didn't do anything meaningful if I just did a somersault. Believe it or not, the loudest applaud I have ever received was when I did a simple charismatic and charming dance, nothing was hard about it, the movement speaks for itself and I didn't have to act. Whenever I get to do a presentational dance it oblige me to show-off and because of that you have the pressure of doing everything perfectly and this leads to frustration, depression, insecurity,jealousy and sometimes quitting for some dancers.

Which one is better? it all depends on the viewer, in my experience most dance critics hate that you show-off or when you are so enamored with your ability, this is because they've seen it all and they probably have seen better ones.

Fun Weekend in NYC

2008-05-07T17:38:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I spent my birthday with my close friends. We went to "Dallas BBQ" which I would say was a good choice and then we went to this bar called "The Ritz" I liked the place but it's just jammed and you can barely move around. The next day we met up with friends at this restaurant called "Nooch" in Chelsea, they really serve good food and the servers were very attentive to their costumers. We then went to "Lea" in Hemsley and we stayed drinking until 3 am. I woke up the next day with with a pounding headache, but the party is not over yet, we all met up in Chelsea for brunch. We were supposed to dine at "Cafeteria" but the place was packed so we ended up at "Ate Avenue" this restaurant is very cozy, and the settings makes you feel relaxed but the menu is quite limited the serving portion seemed like the whole country is in starvation. To sum everything up, I had a blast just being surrounded with friends that cares and supports me in what I do, that's the greatest gift a person can ever have

My birthday is coming!!!

2008-04-26T19:51:00.000-07:00

Is it just me or the world is turning rapidly? I'm turning 27 on May 2nd and I haven't decided yet what I'll do on my birthday. When I was 14 I was involved in a theater company in the Philippines that focuses on environment. We travel abroad frequently but in consequence this made me celebrate my birthday away from my family and up to now living in the US doesn't help at all. I have checked the flight fare to Manila, Philippines and because it is summer over there the prices the last time I've checked has gone up to almost $2000. Last year I celebrated my birthday in a tiny filipino restaurant near Union Square in NYC with a small group of friends. So I guess this year I'll celebrate my birthday in NYC with my good friends.