Art across the regions

MANILA, Philippines - The CCP’s Outreach and Exchange Program celebrated its 35th year with a series of regional exchange tours. It started last September with the Visayas tour of three leading performing groups from Luzon – Barasoain Kalinangan Foundation of Bulacan, Baao Children & Youth Choir of Bicol and the Lahing Batangan Dance Troupe of Batangas City.

I joined the second site of the Mindanao tour last month in Tagum City, Davao del Norte. Three prominent performing groups from the Visayas – Dagyaw Baile of the Iloilo National High School; Kabataang Silay Rondalla Ensemble of Silay City, Negros Occidental and the University of the Visayas Chorale of Cebu City – collaborated to showcase the best of Visayan culture.

The CCP Cultural Exchange Department partnered with Musikahan sa Tagum Foundation Inc. Alma Uy, Musikahan’s chairperson and president, says she is happy that CCP recognizes her foundation as one of its regional arts centers in Mindanao. She feels that the CCP Outreach and Exchange Program is a good project.

“The competition for music is more on the western kind like rock music, but through the CCP Outreach and program, we are able to educate the youth on other kinds of music,” she says. Uy also hopes that the CCP Outreach will come two to three times a year to bring artists from different art forms, so that the people of Tagum City can achieve a high level of culture and arts appreciation.

On the evening of Nov. 7, I finally got the chance to watch the three groups perform in the University of Mindanao gym. Despite the fact that the students came from a matinee show at the Bukidnon State University Sto. Tomas Extension Studies Center in Sto. Tomas, Davao del Norte about an hour away and their bus malfunctioned three times along the road, once they were on stage, they did not show any sign of fatigue at all.

The Kabataang Silay Rondalla opened the show with high energy and performed several Filipino pieces. But what made the student audience sing with the rondalla was “Let It Go,” the popular song in the movie “Frozen.”

The dance moves of the Dagyaw Baile were so fluid as they changed from ethnic, to contemporary to ballet. And the heavenly voices of the University of Visayas Chorale permeated into the hearts of the audience.

I asked the heads of the three groups to comment on their collaboration for the CCP Outreach’s 35th year and Kenneth Lirazan of UV Chorale said that they feel so blessed and are overwhelmed that they were chosen to join the tour. They share the vision and passion of the CCP Outreach to promote our own culture.

Jegger Anjao, the trainer and conductor of the Kabataang Silay Rondalla, said that it is an honor for his group to be picked among all the groups in the Visayas and they thank the CCP for trusting them.

Ria Española, the artistic director of the Dagyaw Baile of the Iloilo National High School, said that this is a timely opportunity for them since they were out of the mainstream for 10 years but the CCP still believes that they can deliver – and they certainly did!

The last phase of the regional exchanges featured four well accomplished performing groups from Mindanao – MSU Kabpapagariya Ensemble of Gen. Santos City; Helubong Community Dance Troup of Lake Sebu; Mebuyan of Davao City; RMMC Teatro Ambahanon of Gen. Santos – and Bayang Barrios touring Luzon, particularly in the cities of Batangas, Baguio and Malolos, Bulacan.

I asked Chinggay Bernardo, the department manager of CCP’s Cultural Exchange Department, to identify four outstanding highlights of the CCP outreach program in the last three and a half decades.

“We are happy and proud to have served as catalysts for regional cultural development by providing opportunities for the regional artists to achieve excellence. Through its Lakbay Sining touring program, it has made an extensive promotion of the arts all over the country.

“We bring the artists to far flung areas to perform and showcase in parks, plazas, school gyms, hospitals and even in cockpits,” she says.

The Center’s outreach program helped the local arts and community organizations to professionalize their cultural work and arts management with the numerous workshops, seminars, forums and conferences it has organized.

Lastly, the program has built and maintained strong linkages and active networks around the country and even abroad. “Without these partners,” Bernardo said, “it will be almost impossible to implement the programs given the very limited resources we have.”

Bernardo hopes that the CCP Outreach programs will continue to generate greater impact and inspire a much wider audience and involve more communities.

They also want to further expand international cultural exchanges and pursue their cultural awareness programs for the huge community of Filipino overseas workers to encourage them to appreciate and promote our rich cultural heritage.

“Our work is a very challenging journey,” she explains. “There is difficulty in finding resources to do this noble work but it is very fulfilling. The fruits of our labor go beyond the performances and exhibitions. We are grateful and happy for we know that our legacy will extend to the next generations.”