PIA Press Release
Thursday, January 26, 2012

‘Sayaw Pinoy’ 2012 goes to Davao

DAVAO CITY, Jan. 26 (PIA) -- “Sayaw Pinoy,” the longest running national dance tour featured in this year’s Philippine Arts Festival (PAF), will be staged in the city on Feb. 3 to 4.

The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) brings in to Davao City the country’s top dance companies to perform in a dance tour that will showcase colorful tradition of dances and movements in the country.

NCCA’s National Committee on Dance head Shirley Halili-Cruz said the national dance groups together with three local dance troupes in the city will carry out different dance forms such as classical ballet, folk dance, contemporary and modern dance like hip-hop.

The back-to-back performances will be staged at the Philippine Nikkei-Jin Kai International School and University of Southeastern Philippines (USEP) on Feb. 3 and at SM City Davao and Abreeza Mall on Feb. 4, Halili-Cruz said.

She told the media during Wednesday’s Club 888 Forum that that dance tour “aims to reach the grassroots level to discover new talents and to connect to more Filipino dance artists.”

“Sayaw Pinoy has provided a venue for interaction and collaboration among different dance troupes and companies, both professional and upcoming groups all over the country,” Halili-Cruz stated.

Aside from Davao City, Sayaw Pinoy will also be held in other parts of Mindanao such as in Bukidnon, Dapitan, Dipolog and Pagadian.

The dance tour this year will also go to various venues in Luzon, Visayas and the National Capital Region.

Halili-Cruz said that NCCA spearheads the national dance tour as one of its seven flagship projects of PAF in the annual celebration of the National Arts Month every February.

This year’s celebration carries the theme, “Tradisyon at Inobasyon (Tradition and Innovation)” which aims to “further advance local creativity in the arts.”

Marichu Tellano, head of NCCA’s Planning, Policy, Policy Formulation, and Programming Division, said that PAF will open on Jan. 29 at the Luneta Park in Manila.

Tellano said that eminent local and foreign artists will take part in the seven arts festivities to be held at various regions in the country.

The seven arts festivities are the literary arts festival called Taboan, the First Asian Festival of Gongs and Bamboo Music, the Tanghal dramatic arts, Philippine International Visual Arts Festival: The Rizal Experience, CinemaRehiyon, Architecture and the Sayaw Pinoy. (CLC/PIA-11)