Caprisa 2013

CEBU, Philippines - The road to Capiz from Cebu offered unparalled satisfaction that one gets from informative readings from travel guide books.

This writer took notice of the place since it hosted the International Dance Congress sometime in 2011 where, unfortunately, insufficient funds restricted travel and participation to the said event. Succeeding participation as a judge  in the 2012 "Pintados de Passi" festival of Passi City, Ilo-Ilo, and the National Folk Dance Workshops conducted by the "Samahang Tagapagtaguyod ng mga Katutubong Sayaw ng Pilipinas" (Philippine Folk Dance Society) in Bago City, Negros Oriental, Batangas City and recently at the Folk Arts Theater, generated a handful of friends hailing from Roxas City, Dumalag and Dao, Province of Capiz.

Roxas City is a wonderful place, a modern hub in a very rural setting, where tricycles, its chief mode of transportation, facilitate the movement of the locals from their point of embarkation to places like the Cathedral of Mary Immaculate Conception, two Gaisano Malls, the market center or the seaside restaurants that serve the freshest and sumptuous sea food cuisines.

The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) in cooperation with Capiz Private Schools Association, Inc. (CAPRISA) extended an invitation to this writer to judge the contest among participating schools for the folk and contemporary dances last October 4, 2013 at the Dinggoy Roxas Civic Center in Roxas City, Capiz. The panel of judges included Peter de Vera (Bulacan), Lordino Vergara (Philippine Normal University), Edwin Masangkay (Ibajay State University, Aklan) and this writer.   The folk dance contest was joined by two elementary contenders, eight groups for the secondary division and four in the tertiary level, while three tertiary level groups vied for the win in the contemporary category. Colegio de la Purisima Concepcion bagged all first place wins in all categories. Choreographers Romy Bugna and Nobel Paredes trained the high school and college levels, respectively.

The folk dance entry "Pagdulang", an occupational dance of Masbate and choreographed by Bugna, excelled in terms of aesthetics, execution and staging. Paredes' moderate-paced contemporary interpretation of the ill effects of man's abuse of water resources wowed the crowd and the judges. The winners will be competing in this year's regional competition. (FREEMAN)