After the successful staging of its grand musical last year, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) and the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) present a dance musical featuring the diverse dances of different countries.
Dubbed Dances of the World, Tara Byahe Tayo, the musical showcased the dances of China, Thailand, Argentina, France, Mexico, French Polynesia, USA, Brazil, South Africa, and India. The show will be held at CCP’s Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo in Pasay, City yesterday at 7:00 p.m..
The dance musical was performed by PAGCOR employees from the corporate offices, Casino Filipino (CF) branches and Satellite Operations Groups (SOGs) nationwide. There were 10 competing groups from Bacolod, Cebu, Davao, llocos Norte, Pampanga, Tagaytay and Metro Manila.
In a press conference held on Tuesday, PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Andrea D. Domingo said the musical aims to showcase the dancing prowess of employees as well as promote their talents in the field of performing arts.
“They pulled off an amazing musical last year featuring the rich culture, tradition, and festivities in different provinces in the Philippines. Expect that it’s going to be a grander musical performance this year,” Domingo said.
One of the interesting dance repertoires was the “Jarabe” or “Mexican Hot Dance”, the national dance of Mexico that symbolizes courtship of a man and woman.
Also featured were the dances of Thailand such as Lakhon (women working together), Khon (traditional Thai masked dance performed by Royal families), Ram Muay (ritual dance before kickboxing matches), Ramwong (partner dance in a circle), and Wai Khru (dance meant to pay respect).
Mixed Argentinian dances such as the Chacarera (cosmopolitan imagery of Tango), Malambo (traditional folkloric dance), Boleadoras (dance that uses betas, a projectile weapon), Tango and the colorful Chinese dances like the Dai dance, Lion dance, Wushu and Chinese Folk dance were also among the highlights.
“It’s is going to be another interesting, entertaining and exciting presentation from the very talented employees of PAGCOR. They have been preparing for the last few months, so expect the best,” said Assistant Vice President for Entertainment Bong Quintana also during the press conference.
The criteria for judging according to Quintana were based on creativity and ingenuity (20 percent), choreography (30 percent), costume (20 percent) music (20 percent) and overall impact (10 percent).
Winning groups took home huge cash prizes. The champion received P200,000 plus trophy and certificate while the 1st runner-up and 2nd runner-up got P150,000 and P100,000, respectively. Non-winning groups each received P50,000.
Apart from the dance musical, PAGCOR also raffled off big prizes for the guests and audiences including a brand new Toyota Innova worth PI.5 million (grand prize), P500,000 cash (2nd prize) and P300,000 cash (3rd prize).
