Bayanihan @61, An Evening of Interwoven Dance Traditions, is the latest season production of the Bayanihan Dance Company.
The Bayanihan, the national dance company of the Philippines, is known for its excellent productions well-known worldwide.
President Arsenio Lizaso of the Cultural Center of the Philippines where the latest production is being staged says, “For more than 60 years, Bayanihan—the Philippines National Folk Dance Company—has been synonymous with the excellent showcasing of folkloric dance, music and spectacle.”
Bayanihan @61 consists of four suites: Creative Threads of Dance; Palawan…From the Village; Outside the Walls; and Through the Arches.
The introductory part of the new production features Bayanihan’s traditional repertoire, colorfully recreated by Ferdinand “Bong” Jose, Bayanihan’s dance director and choreographer.
Taking center stage in the production are new and dazzling materials like the Palawan martial art dance called “Cali” and the Hispanic-Parian dance “Baile Sevillano” based on the mercurial and ancient Sevillanos of distant Iberia and Italica upon the research of Bayanihan Consultant and Researcher Guillermo Gomez Rivera. The dance, reminiscent of the sea-air adventure, characterizes the old Manila-Mexico-China galleon trade.
The production’s core performing artists include Marielle M. Benitez, Pauline Anne J. Cabrega, Charisse O. Cabrera, Pamela Rose G. Corales, Anna Kristina De Leon, Cherry Mae Dela Paz, Leonor Petra G. Elepano, Mary Anne Luis, Frances Anne Meneses, Vince Irvin Aguilar, Gerald Anzures, Michael S. Dela Chica, Leo Laurence Q. Lorilla, Jospeh Robert Manayan, and Ronnel Olvido.
At the helm of Bayanihan’s artistic team is Executive Director Suzie Moya Benitez. Aside from Jose, she is joined by Musical Director Melito Vale Cruz.