Philippine dance

ROSADO, MANOLO b. San Miguel, Manila 1908 d. Manila 6 Sept 1969. Dancer, teacher, choreographer. Rosado studied at the Ateneo de Manila. His first dance teacher was the Viennese Kaethe Hauser. After WWII, he resumed his studies and was one of the first dancers to tour the Philippines extensively. In 1952, he went to Jacob's Pillow in Massachusetts, USA, and worked with Ted Shawn and Ruth St Denis. He performed all over Europe as soloist and choreographer in the Viennese company of Kapps and Johannes. From 1953 to 1955, he danced with the Spanish Ballet of Magda Briones of Mexico. In 1958, he returned to Manila and staged his well-known works,

ROXAS

ROXAS, ELIZABETH b. 1958. Dancer. She began ballet at age four with Anita Kane, then with Julie Borromeo, Tony Llacer, and Felicitas Layag-Radaic. In 1970, she attended the Cultural Center of the Philip- pines (CCP) summer dance workshop and two years later, at 14, she was taken in by Ballet Philippines becoming one of its leading dancers. In 1973, Eddie Elejar gave her the title role in his Swan of Tuonela. Subsequently, she danced in Edna Vida's Pagsamba (Worship), Effie Nanas' Variations d'Amour (Love Variations), Pauline Kaner's Concertina, George Balanchine's Valse Fantaisie, Alice Reyes' Amada, and Gener Caringal's Ang Sultan (The Sultan), and The Rite of Spring. In 1975, she started choreographing with Inventions; in 1978, she staged Three Figures for the CCP summer dance workshop. In 1979, she received scholarships in Robert Jaffrey's American Ballet Center and Alvin Ailey's American Dance Center. Thereafter she performed with the Met- ropolitan Opera Ballet for a season, and with the Joyce Trisler Dance Company for three years. In 1985 she joined Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and be- came one of its leading dancers. In 1988, she guested in Ballet Philippines' gala and won Manila audiences over in an excerpt from A:Iey' s Witness and in Denisa Reyes' One-Ton Pinay; in 1989, she was featured in Elisa Monte's Treading and Ulysses Dove's Bad Blood. • P.G. del Rosario and B.E.S. Villaruz

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ARTISTS

SABARRE, 0DON b. Calbiga, Samar 1952. Danc- er, teacher, choreographer. He is the older brother of dancer Tomas Sabarre. His initial training was with Joji Felix-Velarde, Eddie Elejar, Cesar Mendoza, Julie Borromeo, and later with Paul Gnatt, Tony Llacer, and Israel Gabriel. He was a member of Dance Theater Philippines, taking the lead role of Tasmi in the pre- miere of Mir-i-nisa in 1969. In 1970, on a study grant from Dance Arts Studio, he attended Robert Jaffrey's American Ballet Center. He became a member of Hark- ness Ballet I, and later, of Pittsburgh Ballet Theater. With these institutions, he trained with David Howard, Maria Vegh, Perry Brunson, Vitale Fokine, Edward Caton, Franco Jelinsic, Nicholas Petrov, and also with jazz maestro Luigi. After four years, he returned to the Philippines and teamed up with his brother Tommy as the Sabarre Brothers on television. They conducted jazz and ballet classes at the University of the East and the Philippine Women's University. In 1976, Odon Sabarre briefly stayed in Moscow as a scholar, extending his studies in Denmark, Switzerland, Germany, Canada and, again the US. He trained further with Finis Jhung, Valentina Pereyaslavec, and Gabriela Taub Darvash. On his return home, he danced occasionally with Dance Concert Company (including for a tour of Guam in 1980) and Dance Theater Philippines, and often for television. Acknowledged as a ballet virtuoso and natural jazz dancer, Sabarre is back in Tacloban to help develop regional dance from his base at the People's Center. • P.G. del Rosario

SABARRE, TOMMY (Tomas Sabarre) b. 1955 d. Mindoro 20 Dec 1987. Dancer, choreographer, teacher. The younger of the Sabarre brothers, he was trained by Joji Felix-Velarde, Eddie Elejar, Julie Borromeo, Tony Llacer, Israel Gabriel, Alice Reyes, and visiting choreographer-teachers Norman Walker, Pauline Kaner, Poul Gnatt, Robin Haig, Luminita Dumitrescu, and William Morgan. He became a member of Dance Theater Philippines and Ballet Philippines, danced as the Cavalier in The Nutcracker, Frantz in Coppelia, and the title role in Felix-Velarde's Kulas na Batugan (Kulas, the Lazy). Among his notable choreographies was Pun tan dos Amantes (Two Lovers' Quarrel) for the Guam Ballet Arts Theater. He taught at dance workshops in

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5ABAS, HAZEL ESCALANTE b. Manila 21 Apr 1961. Dancer, teacher, choreographer. She is the daughter of Dr Leon Sabas and nurse Luz Escalante, and the sister of dancer Irene Sabas and singer Janet Sabas. She started ballet in 1971 at the Academie of the Performing Arts, and continued at Felicitas Layag- Radaic's school, 1973-1979, where she completed the intermediate Royal Academy of Dance training in 1977. From 1975 to 1979, she was a soloist with Dance Theater Philippines, and from 1980, with Ballet Philippines where she rose to be a principal dancer. In 1985, she received her dance diploma from the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Music, and in 1991, a mas- ter's degree in fine arts from New York University-Tisch School of the Arts, USA. In these schools and companies, she trained with Sony Lopez-Gonzalez, Layag-Radaic, Basilio, William Morgan, Alice Reyes, Norman Walker, Armin Wild, Luminita Dumitrescu, Lawrence Rhodes, Cerylyn Lacagnino, Betty Jones, Lucas Hoving, and Risa Steinberg. In 1990, she attended the international choreographers workshop at the American Dance Festi- val in Durham, New Hamsphire, USA. She teaches at the UP, the CCP Dance School, and for Ballet Philippines. Sa bas danced lead roles in Wild's Veranderungen; Morgan's Encounters, Classical Symphony, and Ang Pilya (Naughty Girl); Alice Reyes' Cinderella, Carmen, and Rama, Hari (King Rama); Edna Vida's Peter Pan; and in the ballet classics Don Quixote, La Bayadere, and Giselle. She started choreographing at the Cultu- ral Center of the Philippines (CCP) summer dance workshop and the UP College of Music. She choreog- raphed Si Banahaw, Makiling at Juan (Banahaw, Makiling, and Juan), 1985, to music by Antonino Buenaventura for the Philippine Music Festival; Six to Borodin, 1988, for Ballet Philippines' Five Young Choreographers; Daragang Magayon (Beautiful Maiden), 1991, for the CCP; and Padyak Tadyak (Stamp or Kick) for the UP Dance Company in the First Manila Contemporary Dance Festival, and Illustrated Dialects for Ballet Philippines. While abroad, she choreographed Beat-Les Six, La Belleza de la Filipina

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(The Beauty of the Filipina), Pinay-1, and collaborative works Match 17 and Diving into the Wreck for the Second Avenue Dance Company, all in 1990. Besides receiving the Luva Adameit Choreographic Award in Dance or LA CAD from the UP College of Music, 1977, she has won grants from the CCP and the Asian Cultural Council. • E. B. Capulong and B.E.S. Villaruz

SANTOS

SANDOVAL, LUCIO ANGELES b. Manila 22 May 1911 d. Quezon City 3 Nov 1990. Dancer, choreo- grapher. He graduated from the University of the Philippines (UP), major in fine arts, in 1937. From its start in 1937, he danced with Francisca Reyes-Aquino's UP Folk Song and Dance Group. Later, he danced with the US Armed Forces' Filipiniana group, touring many military camps. He was famous for his Manobo eagle dance. He also performed for Trudl Dubsky-Zipper in Manila Ballet Moderne, 1929-1941, and her post-WWII productions for the Manila Symphony Society. During the war, Sandoval danced with Patria Panahon in Lamberto Avellana's stage shows at the Avenue The- ater. At the Metropolitan Theater, he choreographed the dances for Verdi's Rigoletto in 1943. With the Far Eastern Entertainment Enterprises and along with Katy de la Cruz and his partner Aida Angeles, he danced in an extensive national tour in 1948, called Fil-Americana and directed by Donna Murphy and Dolores Gregory. He continued to dance at the Manila Grand Opera House in the 1950s in the choreographies of Bobby Salvador and Jack Jacinto. On his own, Sandoval directed the Sinagtala Phi- lippine Dance Group in the 1960s, creating folk-based choreographies, such as Mindanao Orchids in Bloom, Luzonian Moods, Visayan Vintages, Maria Clara Went to Town, and Moderne Maria Claras Dancing. He also appeared in films, dancing the tinikling in American Guerrilla in the Philippines and in Dance Beat, a 20th-Century Fox short feature. Much later, he choreographed for various presentations. • B.E.S. Villaruz

SANTOS, TINA (Florentina Revilla Santos-Wahl) b. Manila 12 Jun 1948. Dancer, teacher. Daughter of Ernesto Santos and former movie actress Teresita Revilla, she has three sisters in the arts: Cecile, a Broadway dancer-singer, Ditas and Joji, both dancers. She married premier danseur Gary Wahl in 1975. Santos started ballet with Joji Felix-Velarde and Eddie Elejar, who became her longtime partner, and later with Poul Gnatt, Tony Llacer, and Israel Gabriel. For a time before becoming a full-fledged dancer, she acted and danced in musical comedies for Repertory

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Philippines, toured as a fashion model, and appeared on television. But in 1970, she went to New York, USA, and joined the Harkness Ballet on an extensive European tour. She trained with David Howard, Ben Stevenson, Perry Brunson, Hector Zarassoe, Finis Jhung, Maria Vegh, Elizabeth Carrol, Vicente Nebrada, and the jazz teacher Luigi. With Harkness she rose to principal rank. In 1973, she joined the San Francisco Ballet with her husband, and trained with Richard Gibson, Tatiana Grantseva, Terry Westmoreland, and Alexander Minz. In the 1970s, she was the prima ballerina of Dance Theater Philippines while dancing lead roles in the Alice Reyes and Modem Dance Company, now Ballet Philippines. Before moving to Florida in the late 1980s, Santos taught in various schools in the San Francisco Bay Area and at Richard Gibson's Pacific Dance Center. She is now teacher and coach at the Harid Conserva- tory; one of her pupils won a gold medal in the 1991 ballet competition in Helsinki, Finland. She played lead roles in Julie Borromeo's Zagalas de Manila (Manila Maidens in Procession) and Kaling- an, Felicitas Layag-Radaic's Oy, Akin 'Yan! (Hey, That's Mine!) and Tanan (Elopement), Elejar's Kataka- ta Sin Rajah Indarapatra (Stories of Rajah Indarapat- ra), Llacer's Les Patineurs (The Skaters) and In the Beginning, Robin Haig's La Valse, Gnatt's Peter and the Wolf and Prismatic Variations, Boumonville's Flower Festival at Genzanno pas de deux, and Alice Reyes' At a Maranaw Gathering and Amada. While with San Francisco Ballet, she inspired Michael Smuin to create the Japanese ballet Shinju, 1975, for her and Wahl. Aside from dancing in many other Smuin, Lew Christensen, and George Balanchine ballets, she distinguished herself in the works of Jerome Robbins, Robert Gladstein, and Todd Bolender. • B.E.S. Villaruz

SANTOS-LANG, SHIRLEY REGALADO b. Manila 1 Nov 1940. Dancer. Santos-Lang is the daugh- ter of Pablo Santos and Trinidad Regalado, and is married to Heinz Lang with whom she has a daughter. She studied at the Philippine Women's University for two years. She started ballet training with Kaethe Hauser when she was three and went on to Anita Kane at eight. She later joined the Anita Kane Ballet with whom she danced the role of the Forces of Evil in Reconstruction Ballet, 1952; she was a soloist in La Traviata and Princess Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, both in 1953. She also danced with Remedios de Oteyza's ballet company from 1954 to 1956. In 1957, she started dancing with AI Quinn, Jacinto Matunan, and

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SICANGCO, CECILE b. Bacolod City 25 Nov 1957. Dancer, teacher. Her parents are Jose Sicangco Jr and Gloria Varela. She is married to dancer Jinn Ibarrola. She began training at age five under Mellie Hojilla and later with Lydia Gaston. In 1969, she started attending the Cultural Center of the Philippines summer dance workshop, and in 1973, became a member of Ballet Philippines. In 1976, she studied at the American Bal- let Center in New York, where she trained with David Howard. In 1980, she started to dance the lead roles in Swan Lake, Giselle, Firebird, Coppelia, La Bayadere, The Nutcracker, and in modem works like Songs of a Wayfarer, Season of Flight, Amada, Nuances, Ang Sul- tan (The Sultan), Love Lies Bleeding, Encantada (En- chantress), among others. In 1986, Sicangco was appointed Ballet Philippines' rehearsal mistress, and in 1987, with Osias Barroso, she attended the pedagogical seminar in dance in Varna, Bul- garia. In 1989, she became Ballet Philippines' associate artistic director. In July 1990, she guested in a tour of the Royal Ballet of New Zealand along with Branda Miranda and other artists from the San Francisco, Royal Swedish, and Paris Opera Ballets. In 1990 she was conferred the Negros Occidental Centennial Medal of Honor for her contributions to dance. She received the City of Manila's Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan award in 1993. • E.B. Capulong

SILLIMAN UNIVERSITY DANCE CoMPANY Founded in 1962 by Lucy Patrimonio-Jumawan, it started in the Silliman University School of Music's ballet studio, which Jumawan instituted. When she left for Australia, the group was directed by the Australian choreographer Gwen Schofield. After her, Helen Araneta and then the Serion sisters (Liwayway, Luwalhati, and Luningning) headed the group. Also a product of the company is Miguel Braganza who now dances and choreographs in New York. Among its technical directors have been Junix Inocian and Lu Decenteceo. Its repertory has modern and folk dances, choreographed by Jumawan, Schofield, Braganza, Luwalhati Serion-Campoy, and Liwayway Serion. The company has toured the Visayas and joined the first national ballet festival at the Folk Arts Theater, 1976. • B.E.S. Villaruz

SINING pAN ANADEM Founded in 1988 by Sarno Sarip Bait. Its artistic director is Ramon Obusan and among its choreographers is Khayroden "Marlon" Pangkat. With the return of Maranao religious scholars from Middle East in the early 1980s, rigid Islamic stan- dards of behavior became the norm in Maranao socie- ty. Native songs, dances, and rituals were threatened. Believing this to be contrary to the Islamic ideal of allowing the free flourishing of society, Sining Pana- nadem was organized to save and protect the Maranao cultural expressions and heritage. Despite conserva- tive resistance, even harassment, Bait and the group have won regional and national recognition. In 1988, its songs, dances and ceremonials were documented by the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). In 1989 and 1990, it performed for the CCP's annual festival Pang-alay festival in Manila. Its prog- rams there were also aired on television. In 1989 it earned a local touring grant from the CCP' s outreach and exchange program; it visited communities in Marawi and the rest of Lanao del Sur. In 1990 it con- ducted lecture-demonstrations in Manila, and in 1991 toured Luzon and the Visayas. It was in 1989 that Sining Pananadem gained re- cognition from the Mindanao State University-Marawi as a performing group under the Office of Cultural Affairs. In 1991, it ventured into the preservation of Maranao music with the Development Education Media Services Foundation of Davao City. Recorded songs were distributed worldwide. The group also helped organize Inandang Fokloric, a dance group, under Ismael Cali, and Sowara Maranaw, a choral

SOKKONG

group, under Macaangkos Tocalo. These two serve local artists in different communities in Lanao del Sur. In its established repertoire are: Sindao sa Gaga- wii (on Maranao courtship and lifestyle), Pananadem (remembrance), Kambae (crowning a noble lady), Kapranon (Maranao songs, dances, games, rituals, chants, and music), Sinar (Maranao music fused with Western music), Kariala (feast), Khakawing (wed- ding), and Kandatu (crowning a king), all staged be- tween 1988 and 1990. • S. Bait and B.E.S. Villaruz

SISON-FRIESE, JoVITA ABDON b. 16 Feb 1921. Director, scholar, choreographer. Born to Ricardo Sison and Valeriana Abdon, both of Lingayen, Panga- sinan, Sison-Friese graduated from the Philippine Nor- mal School and the Philippine Women's University (PWU), major in home economics. She shifted her interest to physical education after training at the National College of Physical Education. She went back to PWU and presented her masteral thesis on unpub- lished Philippine folk dances. Inspired by the work of Francisca Reyes-Aquino, Sison-Friese returned to the old folk of her home pro- vince to learn their dances. Out of many years of study and observation, she wrote a book, Philippine Folk Dances from Pangasinan, published in 1980. Serafin Aquino, former superintendent of physical education at the Department of Education, Culture and Sports or DECS, introduced the book, saying it opened another dimension in Pangasinan dances. Sison-Friese was an outstanding teacher of physi- cal education, especially of folk dances, in the city schools of Manila and the National College of Physical Education. After migrating to the United States in the late 1960s, she continued to teach folk dances with unwavering commitment to authenticity. In 1971, she organized the Fil-Am Family Cultural Group in Los Angeles, California. In 1991, on its 20th anniversary, the group gave a grand show with her as overall direc- tor and choreographer. In recognition of her efforts to promote Philippine culture in the United States Sison-Friese has been accorded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Tri- Media Group of Companies. She has also received the Meritorious Service Award for the Promotion of Philip- pine Culture, Merit Award on Children's Dance Group, the Fil-Am Cultural Group's Outstanding Civic Service Award, and a citation from Mayor Tom Bradley of Los Angeles. • P. M. Arandez

SOKKONG, BENICIO See INDEX.

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ARTISTS

SUZARA, DOLORES MORALES b. Manila 6 Sept 1935. Teacher, director. The daughter of Damaso and Engracia Morales, she is married to Jose Suzara with whom she has six children. As chairperson of the Uni- versity of San Carlos (USC) physical Education (PE) department in Cebu City and director of the USC Dance Troupe, Suzara has been active in the promo- tion of Cebuano dance, particularly the sinulog. She judged the annual Sinulog street-dancing contests from 1981 to 1991, and the long experience enabled her to draw up workshop materials for the Philippine Folk Dance Society (PFDS). From 1987-1991, she was a resource person forCebuano dances of the PFDS, of which she has also been vice-president. She has been vice-president of the Philip- pine Association of Physical Education and Sports for Girls and Women, president of the Cebu PE Club, treasurer of the Olympic Society of Cebu, chairperson for dance of the Cebu Federation of the Arts Foundation, and Central Visayas coordinator for the Asia-Pacific Dance Alliance- Philippines. She compiled a collection of group games in 1975. • B.E.S. Villaruz and P.M. Arandez