Marek's Momma: 2006

http://leaflens.blog-city.com/twas_the_night_before.htm
here's the womyn's night sa 70s bistro last october.

usaping puki ni angeli

ccp's tanghalang pilipino's angeli bayani did her own hilarious rendition of a combination of the VAGINA MONOLOGUES pieces translation in filipino. if i'm not mistaken, i think one was about the woman's monologue of discovering how her vagina looks like (and truly admiring it), and definitely the other one was an excerpt from my favorite piece, the C.U.N.T. monologue (of which i can never forget a great rendition by monique wilson) spoken in filipino. she was just so darn funny!

p. manalo was here - The Last Day of Cinemalaya

http://paolomanalo.livejournal.com/225250.html
Today is the last day of the 2006 Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival and tonight is the awarding ceremonies. I've seen most of the full length entries in competition and all of the short film entries.

I'm biased because I watch a lot of plays from Tanghalang Pilipino. So Nick Joseph Olanka's Ang Huling Araw ng Linggo, seven characters with their interconnected stories forming a one-week narrative, is my favorite. I'm happy to see Angeli Bayani (Noli the Musical's Maria Clara and R'meo Luvs Dew-lhiett's Mrs. Capuleto), Arnold Reyes (Noli the Musical's Crisostomo Ibarra and Zsazsa Zatrunnah's Dodong, Payb-Siks' Dax), Rolando Inocencio (R'meo Luvs Dew-lhiett's Mr. Capuleto) and Chunchie Cabasaan (R'meo Luvs Dew-lhiett's scene-stealing extra) on the big screen. Don't even ask me for a critical review. I'll leave that to Gibbs Cadiz.

Sure interconnection's been done before, and done poorly. But in Huling Araw I like the reason for the interconnection and how the week resolves itself with such poignant and earned didacticism that doesn't work in the other films. I like how the days and characters run through all these human weaknesses but in the end it says that there is something in the Filipino that persists even in times of personal or national crisis. He (or she) may be troubled but he'll never be alone.

Readers react - INQ7.net

http://showbizandstyle.inq7.net/entertainment/entertainment/view_article.php?article_id=16329
VIEWFINDER
Readers react

By Nestor Torre
Inquirer
Last updated 00:01am (Mla time) 08/21/2006

Published on page E5 of the August 21, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

LET’S GIVE WAY TO SOME reactions from readers: From a broadcast colleague: “I liked your review of ‘Square Off.’ I agree that the debate format makes Mike Defensor and Chiz Escudero too square.

“I also agree that texters shouldn’t rate them as if ... after a class recitation.”

(NUT: We hope that, the next time we catch “Square Off,” its rigorous format shall have been relaxed and opened up to more dynamic possibilities, to make better use of Defensor and Escudero’s plus points.)

From film buff Chito R. Garrido of Makati City: “The success of Cinemalaya festival is worthy of praise, because it has led to the revival of Filipino movies. But I think that the entries’ use of established movie stars runs counter to the festival’s goal of providing a showcase for new talents. I think this should include actors, too.”

(NUT: Yes, new actors should also be given a break by playing important roles in Cinemalaya entries. And, indeed, this was the case in some Cinemalaya entries—Andy Bais in “Saan Nagtatago si Happiness?” Angeli Bayani in “Huling Araw ng Linggo,” etc.

On the other hand, some star value is needed to attract viewers especially in these star-oriented parts. So, it’s a juggling act.

Also, some new directors may need more experienced film actors to help galvanize their productions, or give them badly needed “texture.” If everybody involved in a production is a new talent, the risk of not achieving artistic success could be increased.

But you’re right: New filmmakers should exert greater effort to develop and showcase fresh talents. Perhaps the best strategy would be to reserve lead roles for relative newcomers, but to give stars important roles to play, so they can provide stellar support for the new talents.)

Finally, a prospective festival entrant asks: “When is the deadline for the submission of stories to the 2007 Cinemalaya film festival? I want to join and don’t want to miss the deadline.”

(NUT: We’ve gotten in touch with Cinemalaya chair Laurice Guillen, and she informs us that the deadline is on Sept. 7.

Three-page synopses should be submitted to the Film Division of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. For details, call 833-1125, and ask for the Film Division.

Cinemalaya 2006 surpasses last year痴 film fest - INQ7.net

http://showbizandstyle.inq7.net/entertainment/entertainment/view_article.php?article_id=12336
Cinemalaya 2006 surpasses last year’s film fest

By Nestor Torre
Inquirer
Last updated 01:00am (Mla time) 07/29/2006

Published on page A3-1 of the July 29, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

WE MADE it a point to watch all of the eight 2006 Cinemalaya feature-length films, the better to answer the key questions: Was it a good festival -- and was it as successful or even better than its first edition last year, which had set a high standard in terms of quality?

The answer to the first question is a hearty yes, with some six of the eight entries coming off as significant and well-made productions.

As a result, we can say that the 2006 filmfest is as good as or even better than last year’s -- which is saying a lot, since the 2005 festival exceeded expectations, and came up with such worthy films as “Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros,” “Pepot Artsita,” and “Big Time.”

Most exceptional

This year, the most exceptional productions are “Tulad ng Dati,” “Batad, Sa Paang Palay,” “Rotonda” and “Donsol.” If you didn’t catch them at the CCP, you have another chance to view them when they move over to the UP Film Center from Aug. 7 to 10.

The 2006 Cinemalaya festival boosted local filmmaking because it enabled viewers to experience situations, characters and themes generally ignored by formula-oriented mainstream cinema.

For a long time now, we’ve been plugging for the production of a Filipino movie about a band, since bands are very popular here, So, we were gratified when “Tulad ng Dati,” a psychological docu-drama about The Dawn, was shown.

Other Cinemalaya entries introduced us to youths in the Mountain Province (“Batad”), whale sharks and a cancer victim (“Donsol”), denizens continually living at the edge of risk and violence (“Rotonda”), and other characters we don’t usually get to meet on the big screen.

We also appreciate Cinemalaya 2006 for showcasing new directors like Ron Bryant (“Rotonda”), Mike Sandejas (“Tulad ng Dati”), Benji Garcia (“Batad”) and Adolf Alix Jr. (“Donsol”) -- gifted and committed filmmakers, one and all.

When we watched the Cinemalaya films, we concluded that Bryant did best of all -- and we’re glad to see that he won the filmfest’s directing award.

We trust that mainstream producers were impressed with the new directors’ polished tyro efforts, and will tap them to direct other movies in seasons to come.

Outstanding

We’re happy, too, that this year’s Cinemalaya festival entries came up with many outstanding lead performances -- Alcris Galura in “Batad,” Mark Gil, Meryl Soriano and Celso Ad Castillo in “Rotonda,” Sid Lucero and Angel Aquino in “Donsol,” Rio Locsin in “Mudraks,” etc.

It’s great that alternative movies are “discovering” new standouts like Galura and Lucero, and “rediscovering” under-utilized veteran talents like Gil and Locsin. We trust that their performances will motivate mainstream producers to cast them in their own productions.

Standouts

Even among the supporting actors and “unknown” talents, there were some standouts -- the vibrantly pretty girl Galura has a crush on in “Batad,” the obsessive girl in the laundry in “Ang Huling Araw ng Linggo” (Angeli Bayani), etc.

We also noted that, on point of technique and technology, this year’s entries are generally better than the 2005 Cinemalaya films. This is heartening, because alternative movies need to look more “professional” if they want to attract and sustain the attention of mainstream moviegoers.

This is the ultimate objective of the festival: To showcase new talents and innovative themes and techniques, so that they can eventually redound to the good of the larger local film audience.

Cinemalaya 2006 was a hit, but the thousands of people who enjoyed its offerings are only a small percentage of the hundreds of thousands who patronize mainstream movies. It is this much larger audience that should ultimately benefit form the gains notched by Cinemalaya.

After another successful edition of the pioneering festival and competition, the challenge now is to figure out precisely how to better achieve that more important goal.

Copyright 2006 Inquirer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

anti-rust punditry, cinematically

http://blogs.scriptologist.com/arparp/
(a review)

KWARTO

pitch: ordinary guy hangs out with ordinary guy friend who brings along two ordinary girl friends and they pair up heterosexually in ordinary guy's mess of a room where they hold an impromptu drinking session until girls get fed up with the macho advances and the two ordinary guys turn on each other to hopefully release their horny ambitions

catch: i like angeli bayani wherever she appears so that makes this watchable

yea but other than that catch, this umpire says "strike one you're out!" first, i don't see the point of this film. i think it was such a fruitless exercise. after each film, you ask yourself, especially if it's a narrative, "what's the point of all this?" and if the answer is as vague as a mudsplatter on your windshield, forget it. it probably did not have any point to begin with. but this is a very good example of how digital filmmaking is now within the reach of every tom, dick and harry who can afford to buy/rent a camera and editing equipment. so this film was made by either a tom, a dick or a harry. c'est tout. i hope one of them enrolls in a scriptwriting seminar soon to learn the nuances of proper film storytelling.

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

HAMLET REDUX

Start:	Nov 22, '06 7:00p
End:	Dec 10, '06
Location:	Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero Theater, Palma Hall, UP Diliman

Dulaang UP presents "Hamlet Redux", Shakespeare's most famous play as directed by Prof. Tony Mabesa.

The cast features: (English) Richard Cunanan as Claudius, Adriana Agcaoili as Gertrude, Jeremy Domingo as Hamlet; (Filipino) Dante Balboa as Claudius, Angeli Bayani as Gertrudes, Arnold Reyes as Hamlet; Ian Lomongo as Horatio, the students of Dulaang UP and the UP Filipiniana dancers.

Tickets are at P200, or call 9261349 / 9205301 loc 6441 for reservations.

English playdates:
November 22, 23; December 1, 6, 8 7pm
November 24; December 6 10am
November 25; December 2, 3 & 10 10am, 3pm

Filipino playdates:
November 24 & 30; December 7 7pm
November 26; December 9 10am, 3pm
November 29 3pm, 7pm

break, my heart, for i must hold my tongue

How
is it possible that we can ignore or throw away potentially good,
loving relationships for a person with whom we have no idea loves us
back or not – and yet crave to be loved, sometimes by anyone or
everyone?

You
think about things like this when you’re home alone doing nothing.
On the other hand, we think about things like this even while we’re
neck-deep in all this shit we call work.

Well,
there’s no answer to this, is there. We just do it. It just
happens. And we don’t know why! Aye, there’s the rub...
Sometimes we do it ourselves to other people, and when it happens to
us, we can’t believe it.

I
think we’re idealists and hopeless romantics, all. We do not
entertain or give ourselves – our love to people who we do not
really want for the sake of our one true love. Now who exactly our
one true love is, is a fucking mystery. We can say that we have
already met them and perhaps fancy ourselves as having fallen in
love. Maybe. The truth is, if someone ever asks me, I’d have
enough cheek to say yes! I have met him, the one man I want to be
with for the rest of my life. And I am so in love with him, and even
if he doesn’t love me in the same way, he loves me nonetheless.

Yeah.

You
may ask me, if I think he really loves me, then why don’t I just go
for it? Why don’t I just go ahead and take the plunge and tell him
how I really feel? Why don’t I just fucking kiss him in the car
before we part for the night?

Because
I can’t. Because I’m too chickenshit to do anything. I’m too
afraid that if I do anything of the sort, I would lose him as a
friend. And if that happens, I will die. I really will. The thing
is, I can endure not doing anything as long as it would mean that I
would have him in my life. I can keep silent as long as I remain
important, as long as I matter to him, as long as I have his respect
and friendship. I can go on loving only him for the rest of my life,
and yet hold my peace.

But
what of the people that you meet? Young men who seem nice enough,
who seem that they will be good to you if only you’d let them? In
an effort to “move on”, you go out with them, entertain them for
a while, but you don’t completely give yourself. And when you
think things are starting to get serious, you back off. You say to
yourself that this is just another “lost soul”, this is just
another guy who you will forget about - or who will forget you - in the next two weeks. Or in
the next twenty-four hours.

How
is it possible that you can love one person and be the better for it,
and yet be cold, callous and even decadent in dealing with other
people’s feelings?

Some
people say that we should never settle when it comes to love – that
if we have an ideal, it’s ok to seek it, to save yourself for that
person and give it your all when you have the chance. When you look
at it that way, it would appear that there is absolutely nothing
wrong with what I’m doing. Or not doing, for that matter. On the
other hand, is it depriving oneself when you let other promising
young men slip through your fingers because of this unattainable one
true love? If so, then does it follow that “not settling” means
that you hurt yourself more than these people? Then, if so, people
such as me do not have love in their lives because we do not want to
have love in their lives?

Doesn’t
it seem counter-intuitive or something? Makes you think you’re
stupid after all your years of so-called experience.

At
this point, I shall say to myself that I must keep the faith,
patience is a virtue, good things will come to those who wait and all
those other feel-good sayings that we keep close to our hearts when
logic fails us. That is, until you get bored with your own angst and
go out again, living your life as if you had never met your one true
love in the crystal palace. Then you meet the inevitable nice young
man and go through the inevitable cycle of fooling yourself that you
can forget your one true love for just one moment and pretend that you’ll be fine
but you’ll never be fine because you’re in love with him and you
cannot cannot love this nice young man and you’re going to stop
seeing him stop texting him stop calling him stop thinking about him
and the second you receive a text from the man you love everything is
wiped clean as if the nice young man never happened and you say to
yourself again for the nth time that yes, this is the man you love –
the man you want to be with for the rest of your life.

the boy and the bedsheet

One
time I actually bought a bedsheet that cost me a fucking fortune
because I had a boy coming over and I wanted to impress him. I
pictured this boy spending many nights with me, with that expensive
bedsheet against our skins and the light of the bedside lamp
illuminating our nakedness.

At the end of the month, all I had was
the bedsheet.

My
housemate and dear friend would tell me, over several beers
throughout several weekends, after I would rant about the boy and the
stupid bedsheet, that there was nothing funny or even stupid about
what I had done. Buying the bedsheet was just one of the many things
I do, apparently. Part of the patterns in my life, as she put it.
So I should just stop crying over the expensive linen and be happy
that at least, I have something decent to lie on.

Patterns
in my life??? I was horrified. Just when I thought I was doing things
differently, just when I thought I was over and done with my past
life of beer and boys and more beer and more boys – was I just
going through the same damn cycle that I always have?

The
thing is, I believe in patterns. I believe that yes, we tend to
create patterns for ourselves because it gives a semblance of order
to our lives that our egos understand. I say “ego” because this
is the part that represents us to the “real world” – the part
of us that has a certain kind of upbringing, a certain sociological
experience, a certain kind of training or schooling and therefore, a
certain way of dealing with other people and with “the real world”.
We do this because we’re like this, we say these things because we
think in this way – cause and effect-everything happens for a
reason sort of thing.

We
are also taught in improvisation that in breaking the routine,
something happens wherein the action is driven forward and the story
is taken to its inevitable climax and denouement. In short, if you
break the routine, something happens, instead of an interminable
going around in circles.

So
I guess, in this sense, my poor stupid ego thought it was breaking
its routine when I bought the bedsheet – poor stupid Angeli going
domestic. Maybe this time, I’ll be lucky; maybe this time,
he’ll stay. Buying the bedsheet meant a nice, warm bed. A
nice, warm bed meant a cozy atmosphere. A cozy atmosphere meant a
girl who could keep house. A girl who could keep house meant a girl
that you didn’t just fuck.

I
was hoping to be the girl that you didn’t just fuck. I was
hoping to be the girl that a boy would like to spend – not
the rest of his life with, that would be expecting too much (but
wouldn’t that be grand!) – his afternoons with me over coffee; or
maybe his evenings, telling me about his day at work; or nice Sunday
mornings sleeping late, his wonderful presence radiating through the
entire room, brighter than the most beautiful sunrise.

They
say that if you continue doing what it is you always do, you will
always have what you have always had. Possibly, I have broken my
routine. I no longer have men calling or texting me in the wee hours
of the dawn, demanding to see me. I no longer wake up in strange
beds, wondering how I got there and who on earth is this guy snoring
next to me.

I
have broken my routine, and woken up to a new pattern. What I have
now are several nice, expensive bedsheets and very nice, warm
blankets. A bed that is nice and, although wide, is not too
expansive. I always have coffee or hot chocolate ready on the table,
and an extra pack of cigarettes just in case.

Just
in case the boy comes back. Or just in case someone else comes along
who would like just to spend some time with me.

Monday, October 16, 2006

HULING HIRIT 2006: Pop Virtuosity, Reuben Laurente

Start:	Oct 27, '06 9:00p
Location:	CCP Silangan Hall

Let Reuben Laurente and his four-piece band immerse you in different musical styles with pop as their common thread. Pop Virtuosity is his latest album outing that promises you a whole gamut of genres in one popped-up formula.

Ticket: Php300 (consumable food & drinks)

For ticket and inquiries, please call the CCP Box Office at tel. no. 832-3704 or Ticketworld at National Bookstore branches or Tower Records at tel. no. 891-9999. Visit the CCP Website: www.culturalcenter. gov.ph

CARMEN

Start:	Oct 24, '06 8:00p
Location:	Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater)

The Aida Gomez Flamenco Company's provocative
restaging of Georges Bizet's Carmen is expected
to dazzle Manila's discriminating dance
connoisseurs and enthusiasts.

The multi-awarded Gomez became the youngest
artistic director of Spanish National Ballet in 1981.
a year earlier, she had been honored with the Max
Scenic Art Prize for the best female dancer as the
lead in her production of Falla's "El Sombrero de
Tres Picos," the inaugural show of Madrid's Teatro
Real.

In 2001, Gomez founded her own company and
staged its debut performance of "Salome," under
the brilliant film director Carlos Saura. She was
awarded the prestigious National Dance Award in
2004.

In Carmen, Gomez combines flamenco and
Spanish classical dance in a performance that
always enthralls audiences.

For tickets and inquiries, please call the CCP Box
Office at tel. no. 832-3704, Instituto Cervantes at
tel. no. 526-1482 to 85 or Ticketworld at National
Bookstore branches or Tower Records at tel. no.
891-9999. Students of Instituto Cervantes are
entitled to discounts. Visit the CCP Website:
www.culturalcenter. gov.ph

Sunday, September 24, 2006

Pinikpikan

Start:	Sep 29, '06 9:30p
Location:	70s Bistro, Anonas Street, Project 3, Quezon City

P150 entrance fee, comes with a free drink

what about "no title"?

it's been a while since i haven't written anything, either online or on paper. i've been a wreck since my mother died, and writing or basically gathering my thoughts together has been terrifying lately. because it meant that i had to sit down and think about stuff, and processing them and all that. instead of just going out and doing something to forget about it or to deal with "the real world". i had to be practical and look for work and think about things like rent, bills, etc. except that every so often, something jerks me back to the fact that my mother's dead, my family will never get back together no matter how hard i try or wish for it to happen, my boyfriend will never be a boyfriend much less my husband, motherhood will not come to me just because i want it to, it will be harder for me to go back to the one company i've wanted to be in than i thought.

stuff like that.

and just when you think you deserve a break, just when you finally decide to kick back and have fun, a prude of a friend - or maybe he's just fucking tight-assed - rains on your parade. not realizing that by telling me not to go out too much, drink too much, flirt too much, he does more harm than good. and oh yes, he meant well and all that, but isn't it funny when you've been hankering for attention and you get the unwanted kind? when you've been craving for a shoulder to cry on and you get a pamphlet to go with that? see the light...let the lord touch you once again...blahblahblah... hahahahaha. i guess god has a sense of humor after all.

still, i have to be thankful. i actually have friends who put up with my shit no matter how big an asshole i get. people love me. it might not be the brand of loving that i'd like to receive, but it is love, nevertheless. the kind i need the most. life still manages to give me these nice surprises.

it gives you hope. and each time, i am reminded that we mustn't be too preoccupied about the future because although important, it is not as important as the present. saving up for a rainy day happens now. giving your all on stage happens now. telling a friend how much you appreciate him happens now. kissing a fool happens now. loving someone happens now.

and it's okay, it's okay to let go, have fun once in a while, even fuck up once in a while. as long as you let it happen. as long as you don't dwell on it afterwards because the past is something that is always out of our hands anyway. at least you can look back on it and laugh, tell your grandchildren that you rocked when you were their age.

amazing, really, when you think about it. some things just aren't as important as we initially thought they were. but one thing i do pray for, for myself and for everyone - may we have the wisdom to know what really matters, and the courage to love, always love.

Friday, September 22, 2006

Kadangyan

Start:	Oct 15, '06 9:00p
Location:	Penguin Rock Ola Cafe, Remedios, Malate

Chong Wishing’s BAKERETTA (Ghost Operetta)

Start:	Nov 10, '06 8:00p
End:	Nov 26, '06
Location:	Tanghalang Huseng Batute, Cultural Center of the Philippines

In celebration of 50 years of Philippine-Japan
friendship, Tanghalang Pilipino collaborates with the
Japan Foundation, Sinag Arts Foundation, the Cultural
Center of the Philippines, with support from the
National Commission for Culture and the Arts, for the
horror-comedy play BAKERETTA (GHOST OPERETTA).

BAKERETTA is a thriller, somewhat in the tradition of
Japanese horror films like Ring and The Grudge, but
with a quirky, musical twist! An amateur theater
company is in the final weeks of rehearsals for a
modern ghost (bake) story – “The Ghost in the Toilet”,
and the mounting pressures of opening night get mixed
up with their personal dramas, comedies and horrors.
At the same time, as they are thrown into a strange
tumult of emotions, the eerie happenings on the set,
make them wonder what indeed exists beyond the
unopened toilet door.

Leading the cast are premier actors Ronnie Lazaro and
Nonie Buencamino alternating as the cancer-stricken
director, Ago. 2005 Aliw Best Stage Actress Irma
Adlawan-Marasigan plays Thea, the stage manager and
Ago’s present girlfriend. The ex-girlfriend and
reluctant substitute director, Bitchay, is played by
distinguished actress Mailes Kanapi. Joining this
remarkable cast are Dante Balois (Manong Kokiks), Bong
Cabrera (Raul), Wenah nagales (Claudette), Paolo
O’Hara (Esting), Randy Villarama (Jas), Nicco Manalo,
Nar Cabico and Leo Ponseca.

This spine-tingling and rib-tickling play is directed
by the playwright himself, multi-awarded screenwriter
and one of Japan’s most exciting theater directors,
Chong Wishing. Playwright Liza Magtoto adapts the
script into Filipino, with Leo Abaya as production
designer, Shoko Matsumoto as lighting designer, music
by Jed Balsamo, Aji Manalo as sound designer, Arlo De
Guzman as assistant director and Barbara Tan-Tiongco
as technical director.

CCP Tanghalang Huseng Batute from
November 10 to 26, 2006. Matinee shows are at 3:00 PM
(Saturdays & Sundays) and evening shows are at 8:00 PM
(Fridays & Saturdays).

For inquiries and ticket reservations, please call the
TP office at 832-3661, 832-1125 locals 1620/1621or
0920-9535381.

Tanghalang Pilipino
Resident Theater Company of the
Cultural Center of the Philippines
Roxas Blvd., Pasay City

Office Telefax: 832-3661
CCP Trunkline: 832-1125 local 1620 & 1621
(Tuesdays to Fridays)

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

PINIKPIKAN Official Website

http://www.pinikpikan.com
From being a "jamming" group of visual and performance artists way back in 1989, Pinikpikan has now evolved into a formal music band that pioneers the world music scene in the Philippines. It is a multi-awarded band that fuses indigenous and modern music styles to create sounds and words that transcend categorization.
Pinikpikan has played in major venues and events all over the archipelago, and has also played outside the country, Singapore and Cambodia recently, to represent the best of world class Filipino world music.

The live performances are a treat to all the senses, awakening the good and wild spirits within you, and your surroundings. Intense, powerful, soulful, sensual.

Free the mind, feel the vibes, groove with the spirits. We invite you to experience Pinikpikan.

:: KADANGYAN Official Website ::

http://www.kadangyan.com.ph
KADANGYAN is an Ifugao term which means "Rich in Culture".

The group started from a group of visual and performing artists and decided to concentrate into music as an ethnic band way back October of 2000.

Now KADANGYAN specializes in tribal and ethno - cultural music and performances and as an ethnic band. The group is also capable of performing acoustic native rituals on stage, theatres and some private gatherings and occasions.

When the group front acted for the band “Slapshock” during their album launch in Dipolog, the audience was shocked when they saw the band step out on stage wearing tribal inspired outfits such as g-string, malong and sarong.

The audience immediately began to heckle and jeer the band, but once they started performing, the audience was stunned and some even began to start dancing. By the end of their set, the audience was screaming “I love you Kadangyan!” This is the kind of challenge that Kandangyan face whenever they perform their tribal inspired tunes.

People who encounter the group for the first time may think they are hearing something new and experimental, but the group feels they are only putting a new spin on something that has been passed down from generation to generation.

The group started when Bhava Mitra went to Cebu and first saw Govinda while he was playing the gongs during a school performance. At that time Mitra was invited by friends to perform at a book launch and needed someone to accompany him. So he invited Govinda, who then invited his classmate Rasaymaya as bassists and his brother Jerome as drummer.

After Jerome invited his friend Markey to do percussion, the band’s line up was complete. (Recently they have added a new guy, Bhakta, who is also deeply interested with ethnic music).

In 2002, the band released their first independent album. Included in the ten tracks CD is the song “Kaluluwa” which is a universal soul chant and a call for rain (which seems to work, since it always seems to rain every time they perform that song!) Another stand out song is “Umaga” or morning which they composed on the spot as they were performing during the Ms Earth 2002.

What happened was that they were running out of songs during the long gown competition, after a brief pose, they begun to improvise.
It sounded so good that they decided to include the song in their first album.

Aside from the Ms Earth competition, the group has performed in events such as “Sarap to sundown”, “Octoberfest 2004” in Mindanao and Fete dela Musique 2004 and 2005. They are currently working on their next album.

Wednesday, September 6, 2006

DEUS EX MACHINA

Start:	Sep 23, '06 8:00p
End:	Sep 24, '06 8:00p
Location:	AIRDANCE Studio, 2nd Flr., The Outlet Yard, 1480 Quezon Ave., Quezon City

The God machine. Contemporary choreographers collaborate with break dance guru Jay Masta in a hip exploration on love and our narrative expectations.

Choreography:
Paul Morales, Bunny Brendia, Avel Bautista, Jay Masta & Jethro Pioquinto

BODY POLITICS: A SEASON OF NEW DANCE

BODY POLITICS brings back our focus to the body: as dancer, mediator of our primal grief and aspiration, and as canvas, the very battleground where politics plays out.

The BODY POLITICS Dance Season heralds a new breed of choreographer and dancer. Young artists culled from the independent dance movement presenting new, fresh, innovative and daring dance works. Held at the studio space, this series of intimate performances afford the audience a special seat to witness and partake of new dance.

Tanghalang Pilipino

http://www.tanghalangpilipino.com
Tanghalang Pilipino was established in 1987, just a year after the first EDSA Revolution, when the country was still full of hope that the housewife who then led it would steer us to the path of peace and prosperity.

This 2006-2007, TP celebrates its 20th season, not with revelry, but through a reflective journey of plays that look into and try to measure, albeit futilely, our worth - in art, love, faith, family, society, history, and even death.

Wednesday, August 2, 2006

"ANG HULING ARAW NG LINGGO" screening

Start:	Aug 10, '06 5:00p
Location:	UP Film Center

Written and directed by UP Film Institute fresh graduate Nick Olanka, it features Johnny Delgado, Boots Anson-Roa, Jenifer Sevilla, Baron Geisler, Monica Llamas, Arnold Reyes and Angeli Bayani.

The story spans a week in a life of seven individuals with interconnected narratives. Domeng is involved in networking or multi-level marketing business and plans to encourage his estranged daughter Luna to join in this unscrupulous business. Luna is abandoned by her husband and son so she asks help from her mother Aling Tess. Aling Tess is a landlady who lives alone and fancies a young male boarder named Kulas. Kulas is a grocery store employee who aspires to become a store manager to impress Julie. Julie is a laundry shop attendant who is obsessed with a male customer named Brian. Brian is a nurse in a local hospital who wants to work abroad so he persuades his girlfriend Sally to provide for his "fixer" fees. An accounting graduate who failed to pass the board exam for two consecutive years, Sally enters Domeng's networking business in the hopes of proving her worth. When she found out that networking is a scam Sally plans to take revenge on Domeng. The film illustrates the interconnection of our lives, a cycle of random events in which the decisions we make are as important as the choices we didn't take.