MANILA, Philippines - Dancers will swoon on the dance floor as the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) will hold Sayaw Pinoy 2012 on February, one of the seven flagship projects of next year’s Philippine Arts Festival (PAF).
Sayaw Pinoy, headed by Shirley Halili-Cruz, will bring the longest-running dance festival around the region to showcase the colorful tradition of dances and movements in the country. It also aims to reach the grassroots level to discover new talents as well as connect to more Filipino dance artists.
“It has provided a venue for interaction and collaboration among the different dance troupes and companies, both professional and upcoming groups, all over the country,” Halili-Cruz said.
The dance tour brings together different dance forms such as classical ballet, folk dance, contemporary and modern dance as the country’s top dance companies perform with the local dance troupes of host cities and municipalities.
Last February, the first week of the tour was held at the cities of Manila, Makati, Pasig, Antipolo, Mandaluyong, Marikina and Quezon for the National Capital Region leg, while the second week was at Davao City, Digos City, General Santos City, Saranggani and Tagum City for Mindanao. The third week of the Sayaw Pinoy tour then was held at the cities of Cebu, Bacolod, Iloilo and Tacloban in Visayas and the last week were the cities of Baguio, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Batangas and Bicol.
PAF is held every February in celebration of the National Arts Month in pursuant to Presidential Proclamation No. 683 signed in 1991. The month-long festival is spearheaded by the NCCA, led by its chairman Felipe de Leon Jr. and OIC-executive director Adelina Suemith, with Marichu Tellano as head of the Planning, Policy Formulation, and Programming Division.
For next year’s celebration, the NCCA has taken the theme “Tradisyon at Inobasyon” (Tradition and Innovation) which aims to further advance local creativity in the arts. Eminent local and foreign artists will take part in this biggest and grandest month-long cultural gathering.
For inquiries, call 527-2192, SMS 0928-5081057, visit www.ncca.gov.ph or e-mail ncca.paio@gmail.com.