Dancers and Musicians Exude Pride in Filipino Traditions Nov. 16 at Eisenhower
October 24, 2006
Bayanihan Philippine National Dance Company, founded in 1957, was a worldwide pioneer in transforming indigenous dance and music into theatrical presentations brimming with originality and visual excitement. Today, the 45-member company of dancers and musicians, which has toured to more than 50 countries on five continents, continues to amaze. The company, which first appeared at Penn State in 1961, returns to State College in a performance at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 16, in Eisenhower Auditorium.
Tickets for the Center for the Performing Arts presentation are $29 for an adult, $16 for a University Park student and $20 for a person 18 and younger. For tickets and information, visit www.cpa.psu.edu or phone (814) 863-0255. Outside the local calling area, dial 1-800-ARTS-TIX. Tickets are also available at Eisenhower Auditorium and Bryce Jordan Center, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays; Penn State Tickets Downtown, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday; and HUB-Robeson Center, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays.
"The Bayanihan Philippine National Dance Company provides a stimulating and remarkably varied show," writes a critic for the Sacramento Bee. "Its production values–lighting, costumes and choreography, particularly–are professional, and its changing aspects maintain an amazing degree of freshness."
Bayanihan was the first Filipino group to perform on Broadway and the first non-American dance company to appear at New York City's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. A typical Bayanihan program includes dozens of dances divided into five sections, including works with origins in the mountain, countryside, Spanish, and Muslim traditions.
"The dances were designed as much as choreographed, featuring constantly changing patterns and groupings, and multiple entrances and exits, especially when the movements were repetitious," a reviewer for the Washington Post observes. "The pieces were short and fast-moving, performed with flawless deportment, and showcased costumes of embroidery, seashells, satin, straw, feathers and frilled lace."
The company's name comes from the Filipino tradition of Bayanihan, which involves working together for the common good. When the Filipino government appealed for a cultural program to represent the nation at the 1958 World's Fair in Brussels, Belgium, the fledgling company's members pulled together to create a production that went on to be the sensation of the fair. Ed Sullivan's American TV program, which featured highlights of the fair, broadcast Bayanihan's success to a national audience in the United States. A year later the company performed to critical acclaim on Broadway.
The Penn State International Dance Ensemble Endowment sponsors the concert. Lite 99 FM, FOX 8 and ABC 23 are the media sponsors. Artistic Viewpoints, an informal moderated discussion featuring Bayanihan Executive Director Suzie Benitez, Artistic and Costume Director Isabel Santos, Deputy Music Director Melito Vale Cruz and Dance Director Ferdinand José, is offered in Eisenhower Auditorium one hour before the performance and is free for ticket holders. Artistic Viewpoints regularly fills to capacity. Seating is available on a first-arrival basis.
Contact: Laura Sullivan, 814-863-6379