DANCERS of different genres from various parts of the country recently trooped to Angeles City in Pampanga province for Sayaw Pinoy 2015, the annual program of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) for the promotion of the art form in the country.

This year’s event, themed “Dance: Bridging Culture and Promoting Artistic Excellence,” merged the National Dance Congress and Dance Competition in a three-day event held at the Holy Angel University and Marquee Mall.

Hundreds of dancers participated in the conference, workshops and competitions, making the event, organized by the NCCA National Committee on Dance, the largest so far in terms of the number of participants.

“This is the biggest [in terms] of attendees specially in the competitions. It is only now that we had 34 groups participating in folk dance [competition] and more than 50 in hiphop and 30 in contemporary,” said National Committee on Dance head Josefina Guillen.

“Our rule is, we cannot turn them away because we would like for all to see, for young artists and directors, to show how good the Filipino artists are,” she added.

Guillen said one of the objectives of the event was “to bring the NCCA closer to its constituents in dance in particular, and to network and strengthen our linkages with other educational institutions, schools, art groups.”

“Filipinos are known for this not only nationally but internationally. In folk, in hiphop, in ballet, in contemporary dance, the Philippines is being recognized because we are not only winning minor prizes, we win major prizes,” added Guillen.

Aside from the three dance genres, workshop participants were also taught ballet, ballroom and even yoga.

First held more than a decade ago, Sayaw Pinoy “has been providing opportunities for artists to maximize their potentials and aims to raise the artists’ consciousness on the value of artistic excellence,” notes NCCA on its website.