6 films to see on the week of August 21 — August 22, 2019
Epic poetry
The week-long Ibalong Festival opened on Aug. 16 with a contemporary recreation of a mid-19th century fragments of 60-stanza epic poem about the precolonial era of the Bicol region. Written in the mold of ancient mythologies, the epic tells of superhuman heroes — Baltog, Handyong and Bantong — who rid the land of fearsome beasts and helped it attain its golden era. Regarded as the region’s biggest non-religious festivity, the Ibalong is filled with cultural, entertainment and sporting events, and will be highlighted by the street presentation on Aug. 24 where participating contingents will recreate the chapters of the mythology through street theater.
Music camp
The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) through its Cultural Exchange Department (CED) and the Philippine Madrigal Singers (MADz) through the Andrea O. Veneracion Sing Philippines Foundation Inc. (AOVSPFI), in partnership with Batangas City, one of CCP’s Kaisa sa Sining Regional Arts Center in Luzon, is holding a regional music camp with outreach concerts featuring the Sing Philippines Youth Choir (SPYC) tour group of 2019-2020, in Batangas City, until Aug. 25. Composed of 40 singers selected from SPYC batches 1 to 3, the SPYC tour group members come from 24 provinces/communities all over the country. The outreach concerts will be held at the covered court of Brgy. Iligan, Batangas City on Aug. 23, and at the Batangas City Convention Center on Aug. 24. Preparations for the Visayas and Mindanao leg of the music camp are underway. For more information, contact the CCP Cultural Exchange at 832-1125 loc. 1708/1709.
Curators lab
Under Kwago’s publishing and curatorial platform Comma, Roy Voragen and Czyka Tumaliuan started Curators Lab to provide a collaborative space to question, investigate, discover, and test different approaches to making, showing, experiencing and evaluating exhibitions. It also opens conversations on the role curators play in contemporary art. The invited curators (Joselina Cruz, Patrick Flores, Tony Godfrey, and Mayumi Hirano) work in institutions and independently to see diverse viewpoints on curating. Curators Lab will be held on Aug. 29, 8 p.m., at De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde. There will be free beer or coffee for those who sign up on or before Aug. 27 through http://bit.ly/rsvpcuratorslab.
Contemporary dance
On Aug. 24 and 25, five new choreographic pieces will premiere in KORYOLAB at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Tanghalang Huseng Batute (CCP Studio Theater) at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. The performance features five new works and five dynamic young choreographers mentored by Gawad CCP awardee Denisa Reyes and internationally renowned choreographer and teacher Myra Beltran. These contemporary pieces tackle memories of forgotten childhood in Sarah Samaniego’s Alala, and the unique world within the world of the malls in which we now live as shown in Mano: Fracture by Buboy Ruatico Jr. Meanwhile, Christopher Chan’s Men-Ta-Li-Tic shows how norms hinder us from accessing truth while Buhay Pag-Asa by Dingdong Selga is a painful tale of children in cramped cells. Finally, Michael Barry Que’s Suggested for you deals with the contemporary phenomenon of Instagram. Tickets are available at all TicketWorld outlets. For more information, call 832-1125 loc. 1409.
Mobile puppetry
The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) presents the Carilyo Cart Project, a venue grant exhibition by artist and educator Marc Vincent P. Cosico, on Aug. 22, 6 p.m. at the CCP’s Bulwagang Carlos V. Francisco (Little Theater Lobby). Based on the mobile puppet theater cart, the carrillo, the artist constructs art pieces that are both sculptural and functional, presenting a contemporary view of the historical material. Writer Rae Raval expounds, “The carillo, inspired by small traveling carts in Europe, were used by Jose Rizal to transport his cardboard puppets around Calamba, Laguna. White cloth and candles were used to stage shadowplay performances inspired by the Spanish moro-moro repertoire… The exhibit is an intricate ensemble of stages. Built to make shows mobile, these performance platforms double as interactive art pieces. Each piece is a wheeled treasure chest that holds toys, dolls, two-dimensional and three-dimensional puppets. These carts are vessels of commute and commune, traveling as a form of rehearsed acts.” Mr. Cosico’s carrillos also serve as a staging area for visual presentations of light and shadowplay. Performances will be presented with the help of Aninong Makiling, visual arts students of the Philippines High School for the Arts. Carilyo Cart Project runs until Oct. 27. For more information, contact the CCP Visual Arts and Museum Division, Production and Exhibition Department, at 832-1125 loc. 1504/1505 and 832-3702, mobile (0917-6033809), e-mail (ccp.exhibits@gmail.com) or visit www.culturalcenter.gov.ph.
Snow White
Nostalgia, romance, enchantment, and sophisticated rhythmic movements — these are the highlights of Ballet Manila’s production of Snow White, a spectacle featuring original choreography from Lisa Macuja Elizalde, which will open the company’s 24th performance season. First performed in 2017, Snow White is the second installment in Ms. Macuja Elizalde’s Princess Trilogy. The said production returns this year as part of Ballet Manila’s 24th performance season with the theme “On Pointé.” Ms. Macuja Elizalde was involved in all aspects of the production, including music, choreography, costumes, and sets. Snow White runs Sept. 7 and 8 at the Aliw Theater, CCP Complex, Pasay City. To buy tickets, visit any Ticketworld outlet, call 891-9999, or go to their website www.ticketworld.com.ph. For more information, visit https://balletmanila.com.ph or https://www.facebook.com/BalletManilaOfficial.
