Leyte dance group captivates US audiences
TACLOBAN CITY – A dance group composed of Typhoon Haiyan survivors from Leyte recently held well-applauded performances in the United States of America.
The Leyte Dance Theater, based in Tacloban City and composed of young talents trained by dance master Jess de Paz, just concluded their US tour, which was from April 11 to June 14 this year. This was the sixth US tour of the dance group/
In this year's tour, they performed in Las Vegas, Nevada; Charlotte, North Carolina; Virginia Beach, Virginia; Tampa, Florida; New Jersey, New Jersey; New Haven, Connecticut; Tucson, Arizona; San Jose and San Francisco in California; and Beaumont, Houston, Dallas and Austin in Texas, among other places
.According to De Paz, during the US tour they had “21 performances with additional sideshows in hospitals, nursing homes and schools.”
The repertoire of the dance group for its recent US performance consisted of four suites. These were “Diwata ha Buscada,” which is a myth about a nymph who fell in love with a mortal man; “Mindanao Sketches” that showcased the Filipino Muslims' lifestyle; “Dances of the Lowlander (Rural Suite), which featured “dances that illustrate the fiesta spirit and demonstrate a love of life....'; and Bayan Ko, a “story of every Filipino who craves for real freedom....”
The female performers of the Leyte Dance Theater are Gloria Cleto Gunda-Corado, Ma. Babette Jeds Llorada, Mara Angelie Roa, Quirima Lovely Agullo, Jessica Christy Fabi, Hannah Krittina Mari Lagutan, Jeserie Culajara, Zyrha Del Pilar, and Pamela Tisha Tindugan.
The male performers are Nielrex Castil, Las Jahansen Caluza, Roberto Gerellano, Joel Badion, Mark James Catindoy, Arian Calupaz, and Peter Paul Maneja.
The artistic staff are Danilo Lerios,vocalcoach and stage manager, and Daniel Guarino, costumes, props and set designer.
Jerry Mores is the co-choreographer while Jess De Paz is the artistic director and choreographer of the Leyte Dance Theater.
As the tour was about to end, De Paz posted in Facebook this message:
“We have heard all the SUPERLATIVES coupled with standing ovations. If we have failed somewhere somehow it could NOT have been noticed or it is just that our audience were so generous that they applaud even our "little" mistakes.
:”Thank you so much people of America for sharing with us your admiration and your support for our cause. Our gratitude extends to the parents, friends and supporters of LDT who continuously prayed and wished for the best for all of us.
“AND TO OUR DEAR LORD WHO HAVE KEPT US SAFE AND HELPED US SHARE THE GIFT OF PERFORMING FOR HIS GLORY.
“Thank you ever so much!”
According to their US tour's souvenir program, “(t)he Leyte Dance Theater today is a handiwork of its founder, Jess de Paz, who never stop training and learning under the hands of local and foreign masters. His scholarship to the Joffrey School of Ballet in New York and his representing the "Study of ASEAN-sponsored "Study of Traditional Dance, Music and Choreography" in Thailand, widened his teaching and choreographic interest.”
“He then initiated his company into rigorous, demanding and exhausting world of ballet and contemporary dance. These genres have ever since provided venue for the company's creativity to capture in movement, or to suspend in tableaux, what is profound and sublime to subjects that Filipinos warmly identify with...stories and legends, historical accounts and current events, steeped in indigenous humor and values,” it continued.
“It also informed that the “Leyte Dance Theater has traveled to the USA six time since 1997 and performed for Filipino-American audiences with overwhelming response.”
It also listed the group's other major performances: Philippine representative to the Chingay Festival in Singapore, International Folk Festival in Turkey; International Folk Festival in Indonesia and International Folk Dance Competition in Sabah, Malaysia where it was adjudged as Grand Champion and winning the Best in Choreography, Best in Music and Best Male Dancer. In 2013, Leyte Dance Theater was among the 40 or more performers around the world that performed during the Grand Prix event in Bahrain.
Leyte Dance Theater is also a regular performer in the yearly International Dance Xchange event sponsored by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts Dance Committee. “Today, aside from its regular performance and travels, the Leyte Dance Theater continues with its dance productions and free training for talented dancer. These programs of training, production and performance make LDT a venue for dance development, artistic expression and national pride.
“As recognition for LDT's efforts, the Sangyaw Foundation, Inc. cited the group for its meritorius achievement in the field of Arts and Entertainment on June 2013. Also, the ALIW Awards Foundation, Inc. recently awarded LDT a "Lifetime Achievement Award" in the field of Performing Arts during the 26th Annual Aliw Awards ceremony at the Manila Hotel last October 8, 2013,” it concluded.
Leyte, where the dance group came from, was devastated by Typhoon Haiyan last Nov. 8, 2013. Despite the disaster, members of the Leyte Dance Theater were able to regroup immediately and prepare for their US tour. (This article was first published in the Manila News Online)
