We were not prepared for the variety however of the program. We learned that what we had seen previously was mainly the dances of Luzon, the large Northern Island in the archipelago where Manila/Manila Bay is and most of the US bases were located. The first set of dances reflected that culture with beautiful dresses, mandolin and guitar music reflecting the European/Spanish influence.
In the first dance, the tale is clearly of celebration, courtship, and romance:
Following that, the next dance employed wooden instruments similar in sound to castanets.
Next came a fascinating dance where the women displayed tremendous balance and agility by dancing with a tumbler of liquid in each hand and one on their head! During the dance, the women lie on the stage and change from side to side, all while balancing the tumblers!
These dancers employ the long bamboo poles that are clacked against each other and against the floor to establish a rhythm. The dancers step into and out of the gaps and as they adjust to the rhythm, the "musicians" increase the tempo until the dancers are moving pretty quickly.
After a break, the program resumed with the music now being mainly from percussion instruments - bells, gongs, shells, hollowed tubes, etc.
The dancers regalia also reflected the more Southern islands such as Mindanao where the warrior and hunter are revered in the dances.
But that's not to say romance is out of the picture. In this dance, two suitors appear and the woman dances between them selecting the man who has impressed her most.
In this dance, what appeared to be a wedding of people of station, possibly royalty is depicted.
The lead woman dancer wore a body suit top engraved with what I think was to represent tatoos on the naked upper body of the bride. Here, the wedding is celebrated by drinking from the common cup.
Finally, the groom clothes the bride in his cloak.
Other dances were clearly to celebrate the warrior!
Other dances seem to reflect the celebration of the harvest.
And more celebration of mating/wedding - between royalty?
The Spanish influence appears again in this dance with the gowns and fans.
In the finale, the princess arrives being carried on a litter and then is joined by her suitor as they dance in and out of the bamboo poles.
In the end, the happy couple celebrate their union.
And the entire ensemble received raucous cheers and applause from the audience - us included!
San Diego is home to a very large community of people of the Philippines.
This presentation made it clear that there is a wide range of cultures in the Philippines, each with it's unique traditions, geography, and even languages, making it a very diverse nation.
This presentation was a wonderful tribute to that variety being brought together in unity and showcased through this celebration.
A note on the photographs: Use of flash was prohibited. Even with the stage lighting, the shutter speed varied from 1/60 down to 1/8. Consequently, some of the photos are slightly blurred due to the motion of the dancers.
I should add that everything I've said above about the dances is speculation on my part based on my impression of the dances.
If I have misinterpreted any of these dances, I would welcome correction, just email me.
Bob
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