To celebrate Philippine National Dance Week and International Dance Day, Contemporary Dance Network Manila (CDNM) is presenting “X-hilirate! Contemporary Dance Map 2013,” a Metro-wide, week-long series of dance shows and related activities.
“Contemporary Dance Map is laid out once again this year in its original format, with several studio shows spread out across the Metro in the span of a week, culminating at the UP Annex Garden on April 29,” says Angela Lawenko-Baguilat.
Lawenko-Baguilat is the chair of CDNM, an organization of contemporary dance companies, artists, school-based organizations and institutions, whose goal is to promote contemporary dance in the Philippines.
Member groups of CDNM will present their latest works in their respective studios, “as the pioneering groups did in order to activate independent contemporary dance in the country,” she says.
“This year, the network looks back on its roots to revive the excitement that blossomed into our current contemporary dance scene.” she adds. “We want to excite burgeoning dance artists and encourage them to explore, experiment, and exceed all previous experiments and explorations.”
Presidential Proclamation
The series began yesterday (April 21) in San Francisco del Monte, Quezon City, with “X-pose: In\Stall\Ment,” staged by Airdance at their recently inaugurated studio.
On April 25, UP Dance Company will stage “X-traction: Linings in Between” in Diliman, Quezon City, at UP College of Music’s dance studio. This is followed by Chameleon Dance Theater’s “New DireXion: Episode 1” in Cubao on April 26.
The series moves to Manila on April 27 as Lyceum Dance Theater stages “Xtension” at Lyceum of the Philippines University’s José Laurel Hall of Freedom.
Philippine National Dance Week, celebrated every last week of April, began in 1993 as per Presidential Proclamation 154 signed by then President Fidel Ramos.
Performance and screening
The series concludes in Quezon City with a gala performance and a dance-film screening.
The Contemporary Dance Map Gala will be staged at the UP College of Music’s Annex Garden on April 29, featuring the works of choreographers Elena Laniog, Jun Saagundo, Rhosam Prudenciado, Rudolph Segundo and Ava Villanueva.
International Dance Day, celebrated every April 29, was founded in 1982 by the International Dance Committee of Unesco’s International Theater Institute.
The series ends at Dance Forum Space, the performance space created by CDNM founding chair and current vice chair Myra Beltran.
On April 30, Dance Forum Space will host the showing of two dance films with an open forum. Uncensored Bodies X-plore will screen “Merce Cunningham: A Lifetime of Dance” (about the American dancer and choreographer known for his involvement in the avant-garde dance movement); and “Meredith Monk: Inner Voice” (about the American composer, performer, director, vocalist, filmmaker, and choreographer known for her multidisciplinary works that combine music, theater and dance).
Workshop
Uncensored Bodies X-plore, a dance-film workshop, will also be held May 1-4.
The four-day workshop will have topics such as aesthetics, production, film language for choreography. Participants will pitch their ideas to choreographers for collaboration.
Workshop facilitators Sherad Anthony Sanchez and Ruelo Zendo will choose seven projects to be mentored and realized. The films will be screened at the end of May.
All performances begin at 7 p.m. Some shows have student and senior citizen discounts. E-mail [email protected] or call tel. 0917-5760212.
