Philippine dance
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SziLARD, PAUL Active 1940s and 1950s. Dancer, teacher. Szilard staged and danced in ballets and operatic dances in Manila during WWII. He presented Swan Lake, Sylvia, The Four Seasons, "Dance of the Hours" from La Gioconda, and The Mad Thinker, among others, at the Metropolitan Theater under the auspices of the Volunteer Social Aid Committee. Among his dancers were Remedios de Oteyza, Cecile Yulo-Locsin, Nadine Vantchuran, and Chloe Cruz-Romulo. In 1953, he orga- 240
nized Philippine Art Theater for a production called Bal- let Philippines that stylized Philippine folk dances into a ballet theater presentation. In 1978, he was awarded by the Ballet Federation of the Philippines during the Third National Ballet Festival for his wartime work in the Phi- lippines and his impresario work thereafter. Szilard is now a prominent impresario in New York City, USA. He brought the New York City Ballet to Manila in 1958, the Martha Graham Dance Com- pany in 1974, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1977, and Ballet Nuevo Mundo de Caracas, with Filipino dancers Manuel Molina and Gloria Tobilla de la Casa, in 1982. • B.E.S. Villaruz T T ABIJE-ANDIN, CARMEN b. Paoay, llocos Norte 20 Feb 1924. Teacher, scholar. She was born to Pedro Tabije and Antonia Evangelista. She holds an elementary teacher's course degree from northern Luzon Teachers' College and a bachelor of science in education from North- western College. Even as she began teaching she continued higher studies obtaining a master of arts in education admi- nistration from Arellano University in 1979 and a doctor of philosophy degree from Philippine Normal College (PNC). She taught at the National College of Physical Education and Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila. She has been chairperson for graduate specialization in dance and sports at the PNC and consultant on curriculum and textbook writing for the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS). As a writer, she has published the following: Foundations of Physical Education, 1985; The Teaching of Physical Education in Philippine Schools, 1980 (re- vised edition 1985); Organization and Management of Physical Education and Sports, 1982; Aerobics for Fit- ness and Fun-A Scientific Approach, 1984; and Philip- pine Folk Dance (in Animation), Vols I and II, 1987; and the MAPE (Music, Arts and physical education) series for Grades I-VI, 1990. Tabije-Andin founded the Dance Education Associa- tion of the Philippines and the National Association of Physical Education and Sports and heads both organiza- tions. She is a board member of the Philippine Folk Dance Society and the Philippine Association of Physical Education and Sports for Girls and Women, and secre- tary for the Francisca Reyes-Aquino Memorial Founda- tion. She has been vice-chairperson for the National Committee on Dance of the Presidential Commission on Culture and the Arts for two terms. She is a member of the International Society in Comparative Physical Educa- tion and Sports. • B.E.S. Villaruz T AMBULI CuLTURAL TROUPE Founded in June 1974 at the Mindanao State University (MSU) Tawi-Tawi (formerly the Sulu College of Technology and Oceanography), a unit of the MSU in the Sulu archipelago, it aims to revive, stimulate, and sustain interest in Tausug, Sarna!, Badjao, and Jama Mapun dance, music, and ritual. Ligaya Amilbangsa was the troupe's founder and director from 1974 to 1978, and researcher. Having little more than native talent and enthusiasm to start with, the troupe resorted to borrowing costumes and musical instruments for its early performances. The troupe's repertory consisted of Amilbangsa's re- searched materials, later published in a book entitled Pangalay: Traditional Dances and Related Folk Artis- tic Expressions. The Tambuli Cultural Troupe has travelled exten- sively on goodwill missions and performances; it is consi- dered an institution in Tawi-tawi, playing a significant role in generating interest in the Sulu archipelago's little- known traditional dances. • L.F. Arnilbangsa TIONGCO, MAUREEN MILES b. Manila 27 Sept 1935. Dancer, actor, director. She is the daughter of Felix Tiongco and Phyllis Miles. Her sister is Carmen Tiongco- Enriquez, an actor. She studied ballet as a child with Luva Adameit, and matured under the tutelage of Anita Kane. She obtained her bachelor of arts, major in English, from the University of the Philippines where she appeared in musicals produced by the Sigma Delta Phi sorority. In 1957, Tiongco studied ballet in New York, USA, with Vladimir Dokoudovsky and Nina Stroganova, later with Richard Thomas and Barbara Fallis. She also stu- died jazz with Luigi, Matt Mattox, and Peter Nelson, and danced for June Taylor and for the legendary Jack Cole in a tour of Chucham. She also learned the Kabuki style under Madame Asuma and some Indian dancing. She studied acting with Larry Blyders at Northwestern Uni- versity, and voice with Arrigo Pola and Harry Theyard, whom she later married. In 1957-1958, she joined the Broadway musical Flower Drum Song, choreographed by Gene Kelly and Carol Haney, taking the lead role of Mei Li after an open audition. She also played the lead roles in Kismet and The World of Suzie Wong, Liat in South Pacific, and Tuptim in The King and I. She choreographed for and appeared in touring industrial shows, danced and sang UNIVERSITY OF THE EAST DANCE COMPANY in clubs in Puerto Rico, and performed in a year's musical revue tour of Europe in 1967. Back in Manila in 1966, Tiongco gave master classes for Kane's school, and restaged and directed Flower Drum Song to raise funds for the proposed Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). Later, in 1976, she directed an opera production at the CCP with I Pagliacci and Cavalleria Rusticana, featuring Theyard. At present, Tiongco is in the real estate business in the United States. • B.E.S. Villaruz u UNIVERSITY oF THE EAsT DANcE CoM- PANY (UE Dance Company) Founded 1951 as the UE Dance Troupe by Maggie Shea, a second-generation disci- ple of Francisca Reyes-Aquino and Trudl Dubsky-Zipper. Shea was assistant director of physical education at the UE, where she organized a 10-member group of physical education (PE) majors to perform folk dance numbers on and off-campus. The troupe received official recog- nition from Socorro Espiritu, dean of the college of liberal arts, and financial support and scholarships from Francisco Dalupan, university president. When Eloisa de Leon, with the assistance of Aurora Tonibio, took over as director from Shea, she added a repertoire of modem dances choreographed by Manolo Rosado, a principal dancer of Kaethe Hauser and Dubsky-Zipper. In 1964, Corazon Generoso-h1igo be- came dance director and focused on dances for the University Athletics Association of the Philippines or UAAP basketball seasons. The troupe also had a heavy schedule of performances in university func- tions, Metro Manila, and the provinces. In 1970 it was invited to the Osaka World's Fair for Philippine Day. Under the administration of Romeo Protasio, who took over in 1972, modern dance classes were started under Betsy Escandor. In 1974, Gener Caringal, principal dancer and choreographer of Ballet Philippines, be- came director and strengthened the modern dance re- pertoire. He also contributed some of his choreog- raphic pieces. The group's performances abroad in- cluded those in Europe in 1984 and 1987, and in the United States in 1988. The present director is Constantino Lucila, also a former member of Ballet Philippines and artistic director of the Chameleon Dance Company, and Contemporario Ethnico Filipino with Nonoy Froilan. He has continued the training in modem dance and added his own works to the repertoire. 241 ARTISTS
Among the noted dancers trained by the UE Dance Company are Nonoy Froilan, Manuel Molina, Gener Caringal, Jinn lbarrola, and Lito Calzada. Some alumni are now dance entrepreneurs, training, and sending dance groups for performances abroad. • C.G. Ifugo UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES FILIPI- NIANA DANCE GROUP (UP Filipiniana Dance Group) In 1948, UP physical education (PE) majors supervised by Luz Einsiedel performed as the PE de- partment's dance group. Eventually. the Filipiniana Dance Group was formally organized under Cynthia Villa (now Abad Santos). Subsequently, the group was directed by Lourdes Saniel, Lydia Buendia, Nelly Zafra, Teresa Miraflor-Agsalud, Linda Kimpo, Corazon Generoso-Ifugo, and Leilani Gonzalo, successively. UP artist-in-residence Generoso-Inigo was re- sponsible for its artistic growth for 18 years. From an all-Filipino folk repertory, the group began to include modern dance, light ballet, and jazz. Their pieces in- clude Alice Reyes' Bungkos Suite, Edna Vida's Fag- samba (Worship), Denisa Reyes' The Last Flower, Gener Caringal' s Ang Sultan (The Sultan) and Simple Symphony, Antonio Fabella's Changes, Douglas Nierras' Maglalatik, and Generoso-Inigo's Baile de Ayer (Dance of Yesterday), Lam-ang, From the Cordil- leras, Fantasia, Correlations, and Celebrations, Sisa. The group has represented the Philippines in fes- tivals and concert halls in France, Spain, Italy, Portu- gal, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Yugoslavia, Romania, US, Canada, Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, Jordan, and Egypt. On its first trip abroad, UP Filipi- niana won two gold prizes at the 33rd International Wine and Folkloric Festival held in Dijon, France; it was the first time in the festival's history that two first prizes were won by a single country. • C.G. Inigo UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES FoLK SoNG AND DANCE CLUB/TROUPE (UP Folk Song and Dance Clubffroupe) Organized in 1937 by Fran- cisca Reyes-Aquino (then Mrs Tolentino) and UP Pres Jorge Bocobo, the objective of the troupe was to revive and popularize Filipino songs and dances. The presi- dent's committee on folk songs and dances composed of Francisco Santiago, H. Otley Beyer, Cecilia Lopez, Antonio Molina, Antonino Buenaventura, Ramon Tolentino, and Mrs Tolentino, fully supported by Bocobo, documented Philippine songs, dances, cos- tumes, musical instruments, and customs. The first touring group included 24 dancers and 10 musicians. Typical of their repertory were abaruray, 242
aetana, alcamfor, anuncio, areuana, ariguinding- guinding, bailes de ayer, bakya, ba-o, kandingan, kuratsa, dugso, esperanza, garambal, habanera, la jota, Kalinga wedding dance, lawiswis kawayan, magasik, maglalatik, palay, pandang-pandang, pan- danggo, pasakat, purpuri, rogelia, sakuting, sagayan, salakot, salampati, siring, sua-sua, subli, tadek, tik- los, ti liday and urukay. Besides performing the songs and dances, Mrs Tolentino lectured on Filipino dances, and Buenaventura on Filipino music. They performed in Luzon provinces and in Iloilo, Bacolod, and Cebu cities in the Visayas. In 1939, when Bocobo was named secretary of public instruction, he asked for Mrs Tolentino to be transferred to the Bureau of Education. The club or troupe thus "hibernated" for the next nine years. In 1948, Luz Einsiedel informally organized physical education majors of UP to continue the work of Mrs Tolentino and to fulfill requests for folk dance performances. This group became the nucleus of the UP Filipiniana Dance Company. The club or troupe attracted an impressive list of charter members, many of them socially prominent. The officers, headed by Ricardo Bahia, president, and Lucio Sandoval and Milagros Lucas, vice-presidents, were Paz Cielo Angeles-Belmonte, Patria Panahon, Eugenia Eleazar, Ramon Fajardo, Bernardo Capili, Ramon Tolentino, and Jose Generoso. • C. G. Inigo v VIDA, EDNA (Edna Reyes Cabujat) b. Manila 14 Nov 1954. Dancer, choreographer, director. She is the youngest of six children of Ricardo Reyes, dancer, and Adoracion Garcia, singer. She is married to dancer- choreographer Nonoy Froilan, with whom she has two children. Her elder sisters, Alice and Denisa Reyes, are choreographers and dance teachers. She began lessons at age five with Greta Monserrat and later with Joji Felix-Velarde. At 11, she created dance numbers for school productions in Maryknoll. In 1970 she joined the first Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) sum- mer dance workshop. From 1974 to 1989, Vida was principal dancer of Ballet Philippines; she became its associate artistic director in 1983 and co-artistic director in 1988. She taught at the National Arts Center's Philippine High School for the Arts and directed the CCP Dance School from 1983 to 1989, heading the school's participation in the Hong Kong International Festival of Dance Academies in 1989. She was artistic director for the national tour of the Stars of Philippine Ballet in 1988, the Yugyugan CCP Jazz Festival in 1989, and the CCP annual Pasasalamat program in 1992. In 1988, the United States Information Service awarded her a grant to the 52nd American Dance Festival in Durham, North Carolina. She wrote articles in Dance Philippines from 1981 to 1983, and for various magazines and news- papers. She currently writes a column for Manila Times. In 1977, Vida choreographed her first work, Pag- samba (Worship) for the CCP summer dance work- shop; this work has since been included in the Ballet Philippines' repertoire. Her other contemporary bal- lets are Vision of Fire, Ensalada (Salad), Gardenia, Romeo and Juliet, Portraits, and The Little Tailor. She did a series of children's full-length ballets, such as The Nutcracker, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, and lbong Adarna (Adarna Bird). She created dances for Magsimula Ka (Begin Now), 1987, and Corregidor, Revisited, 1992, both for the CCP; Dalagang Bukid (Country Maiden),1987; El Filibusterismo (Subversion), 1991; and Pilipinas Circa 1907, 1992, for Tanghalang Pilipino; Jesus Christ Super- star, 1984, for the Folk Arts Theater; West Side Story, 1985, for a TV special; Mutya ng Pasig (Muse of Pasig), 1983, for Toni Lopez Gonzalez (semifinalist at the Var- na Competition in Bulgaria); and Ang lbon (The Bird), 1987, for Lisa Macuja (silver medalist at the Asia- Pacific Ballet Competition in Tokyo), among others. Vida danced the principal role of Myrtha to Natalia Makarova's Giselle with Patrick Bissell in Manila in 1979. She performed numerous other leading roles for which she earned critical acclaim. Her most memo- rable was the title role in Firebird, choreographed for her and Froilan by Armin Wild in 1975. In 1993 she held two one-person exhibits of her pastel and oil paintings and drawings: Grand fete at SM Megamall Gallery and Why Dance? at Penguin Cafe. • B.E.S. Villaruz and E. Capulong VILLADOLID, ANNA COLET b. Mandaluyong, Metro Manila 9 Mar 1964. Dancer. Her parents are Oscar Villadolid, former journalist and ambassador, and Alice Colet, journalist; her sisters Hilda and Tina are writers, and brother Joey is a dance company man- ager and photographer. She graduated with honors from St Theresa's College High School, and was briefly in the diploma dance program of the University of the Philippines College of Music. Villadolid started ballet with Felicitas Layag- Radaic until she became a member of Dance Theater Philippines. She also trained with Basilio, Enrico VILLANUEVA-PINON Labayen, William Morgan, Eddie Elejar, and Antonio Fabella whose Manila Metropolis Ballet made her a full-fledged ballerina. Abroad, she trained with Melissa Hayden, David Howard, Robert Denvers, Edward Villella, and with the Eglevsky Ballet and Bos- ton Ballet. In 1982, director Konstanz Vernon of Ger- many's Munich Ballet Academy offered her a Heinz Bosl Foundation scholarship. In less than a year, Villadolid became a member of the Bavarian State Ballet in Munich where she is now a principal dancer. In Manila, she was featured in ballets by Basilio, Elejar, and Fabella. She created the adagio in Basilio's Ode to Botticelli, 1981, and Antonina in Tchaikovsky Fantasy, 1982; the girl in Elejar's Mask, 1981, and in his collaboration with Joji Felix-Velarde, Sylvia, 1985, after Louis Merante; the girl in Fabella's Limang Dip a (Five Armstretches), 1981, Love Like the Moon, the Inconstant Moon, 1982, and "Impossible Dream" in Four Songs, 1987. With Manila Metropolis Ballet, she danced Giselle, 1983, and Odette-Odile, 1984. She also guested with Ballet Philippines in Giselle, 1987, Alice Reyes' Romeo and Juliet, 1988, Swan Lake, 1991, and in several gala performances. In Munich, she danced the girl in Fokine' s Le Spectre de laRose, Marie in J. Neumeier's The Nutcracker, Juliet in J. Cranko' s Romeo and Juliet and the elf in his feu de Cartes, the title role in T. Shilling's Undine, and in U. Scholz' Jeunehomme. She has danced Giselle several times in Munich, Berlin, and Leipzig, plus the title role in Bournonville's La Sylphide, Cupid in Petipa's Don Quix- ote and Princess Aurora in his The Sleeping Beauty. In all these, she gained critical acclaim, including being called "the diva of dance." Recently, she has been a regular guest artist wih the Birmingham Royal Ballet essaying lead roles in many of its ballets. In 1991, she was awarded the Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan award by the City of Manila. • B.E.S. Villaruz VILLANUEVA-PINON, REMEDIOS b. Manila 26 Feb 1916. Dancer, teacher, choreographer. Villanueva- Pinon is the sister of painter-writer Lydia Villanueva Arguilla and half-sister of dancer-choreographer Benjamin Reyes. She is the mother of dancer, choreog- rapher, and gymnast Trudl Pinon. From 1951 until her retirement in 1981, she taught physical education at the University of the Philippines (UP). Between 1945 and 1975, she also taught ballet at the Young Women's Christian Association in Manila. From 1951 to 1956, she successively set the rhythmic floor exercises for the National Gymnastic Competitions. At present she runs her own private dance studio in Quezon City. 243 ARTISTS
Villanueva-Pifwn studied dance under prominent teachers here and abroad and attended classes and workshops of visiting dancers and choreographers. A member of Manila Ballet Moderne, she danced in Petite Suite, Peer Gynt Suite, The Iron Foundry, all in 1939; Pictures at an Exhibition and Polovetsky Dances, both in 1940; and L'Arlesienne Suite, 1941. She interpreted Fili::'ino folk songs such as Sitsiritsit, Leron-leron Sinta (Leron-leron Beloved), Bahay Kubo (Nipa Hut), and Paruparong Bukid (Country Butterfly), and local legends, the last with the UP Con- temporary Dancers. She choreographed the life of Maria Orosa for the Girl Scouts; Our Father, for the Cosmopolitan Church; War and Peace for a UP festi- val, 1951; and an interpretation of St Paul's Letters to the Corinthians for the UP education alumni, 1991. • B.E.S. Villaruz VILLARUZ, BASILIO ESTEBAN DE LOS SANTOS aka Basilio, Steve Villaruz. b. Bago City, Negros Occidental 15 Mar 1940. Choreographer, scholar, cri- tic, teacher. The son of Basilio Camilo Villaruz and Ester de los Santos, Villaruz received his bachelor of arts, ma- jor in English and history, from West Negros College, 1960, and his advanced diploma in choreology from the Institute of Choreology in London, England, 1980. In between, he gained graduate credits in Asian studies at the Far Eastern University and comparative literature at the University of the Philippines (UP). Alongside his college training, which led to his becoming an instructor in English at the UP, he stu- died dance with Pancho Uytiepo and Elsie Torrejon in Bacolod; and then Remedios de Oteyza, Inday Gaston- Maftosa, Julie Borromeo, Felicitas Layag-Radaic, Eddie Elejar, Tony Llacer, Israel Gabriel, and Alice Reyes; and later with Norman Walker, Pauline Kaner, and Mary Hinkson in modem dance, and with Mira Zolan, Garth Welch, Peter Appel, Rochelle Zide-Booth, Leon Danielian, and Larry Burgoon in ballet; and at schools and companies in Germany, the Netherlands, Great Britain, and New York, supplemented by tours and observation in Russia, Indonesia, and the United States. He danced with Dance Theater Philippines (DTP) in 1968-1969, and in 1970 left the academe for the dance. He has since been with the Alice Reyes and Modem Dance Company (which became Ballet Philip- pines), Hariraya Ballet Company, and most recently DTP as balletmaster, choreographer, and then artistic director. He has danced and choreographed (as "Basi- lio'') with all the Manila studios and with Teatro Ama- kan in iloilo and the Alejandro Dance Theatre in New York, while teaching in various schools. Currently he 244 teaches at the UP College of Music. Villaruz is one of the few critics and historians of dance in the Philippines. He has contributed articles to newspapers, periodicals and journals, and acted as editor for Sayaw Silanganan, 1977, and Reynaldo Ale- jandro's Philippine Dance, 1978. Currently, he writes a column for the Manila Chronicle, in which he not only documents and evaluates current performances, but sets them in the context of Philippine dance and within the global dance landscape. In _1989-1990 Villaruz chaired the national dance committee of the Presiden- tial (now National) Commission on Culture and Arts. Between 1991 and 1993, he served on the executive board of the dance committee, International Theater Institute. He has been awarded grants by the German International Theater Institute, Goethe Institute, Brit- ish Council, JDR III Fund, Asian Cultural Council, Southeast Asian Education Ministries Organization, USSR Ministry of Culture, Cultural Center of the Phi- lippines (CCP), and the National Commission on Cul- ture and the Arts or NCCA. His major choreographic works are noted by cri- tics for imagery and maturity. Set to music ranging from Bach to Bartok, Cayabyab to Kasilag, and folk to pop, they include Bach Ballabile, Rooms and Bailes Fil-Hispanos (Filipino-Hispanic Dance), all in 1965; Diurnal and the Dream, 1970; The Rebels and TheRe- surrection of Lazarus, 1971; Royal Sonnets, 1972; The Elements, 1972; Between Sky and Sea, 1973; Mosque Baroque, 1975; Perjured Hearts, 1976; Tropical Tapes- try, 1978; Testament and La Lampara (The Lamp), 1980; Id, Salutations, and Ode to Botticelli, all1981; A Chair, Sweet Warfare, Paean to Pavlova, A Divine Anthology, Domain of Peace, Awit (Song), and Tchaikovsky Fantasy, all 1982; Paglalang (Creation), !sang Lakbay, !sang Hantungan (One Journey, One Destination), Crystal Concerto, and Canto to Canaletto, all1983; Exultations and Misa Filipina (Fili- pino Mass), 1984; A Scrapbook and Aninag (Translu- scence), 1985; Sa Baybayon (By the Shore), 1986; Mul- ing Pagsilang (Rebirth) and A Betrothal, 1986; Mga Awit ni Basil I, II (Basil's Songs I, II), 1987; Ang Babaylan (The Priestess), 1988; Ritual Bonds, Oriental Fantasy, and Ay Kalisud, 1990; and Spiritual Canticle: An Eclogue-Operatorio, 1991. Villaruz has also done monographs and scripts for CCP' s Tuklas Sining series: Sayaw, A Documentary/Monograph on Philippine Dance, directed by Ramon Obusan, which won the Prix de Reportage, 1990; and Philippine Ethnic Dances, directed by Ramon Obusan, which was given a Spe- cial Mention, 1992, at the Grand Prix International Video-Dance in France. • D.G. Fernandez REFERENCES BOOKS AND MONOGRAPHS Adler, Bill. Fred Astaire-A Wonderful Life. New York: Carroll and Graf, 1987. Alejandro, Reynaldo G. Sayaw Silangan: The Dance in the Philippines. New York: Dance Perspective Foundation, 1972. --------· Philippine Dance: Mainstream and Crosscurrents. Quezon City: Vera-Reyes Inc, 1978. Algeranoff, Harcourt. My Years with Pavlova. Lon- don: William Heinemann, 1956. Alvarez Guerra, Juan. De Manila a Tayabas. Manila: 1878. Amberg, George. Ballet in America. New York: New American Library, 1949. Amilbangsa, Ligaya Fernando. Pangalay: Traditional Dances and Related Folk Artistic Expressions. Makati: Filipinas Foundation Inc, 1983. Anderson, Jack. The One and Only: The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. New York: Dance Horizons, 1981. Angiolini, Gaspare. Dissertation sur les Ballets Panto- mimes des Anciens. Vienna, 1765. Italy, 1956. Apel, Willi and Ralph T. Daniel (eds). The Harvard Brief Dictionary of Music. New York: Pocket Bool Arbeau, Thoinot. Orchesography. New York: Dover, 1967.
Artists of the Dance. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1938. Reprinted New York: Dance Horizons, n.d. |