Cultural Center of the Philippines: Turning...Turning 40

Last February 8, 2009, the Cultural Center of the Philippines or CCP celebrates it's 40th anniversary with the presentation of "Turning...Turning 40" at the CCP Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo.

The show started with an introduction or background information about the Filipino Culture. Then it started with the Ethnic dance called "Pagkawan ng Yakan" or Sounds of the Tungtungan - Yakan Wedding Ritual. The dance was done well and I'm impressed with their performance.

The next performance was a Neo-Ethnic Dance called "Darangen ni Bantugan." They showed gracefulness in their performance that really struck the audience.

After the Ethnic and Neo-Ethnic Dance performed by the Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group and Phillipine Ballet Theater comes the Contemporary Dance called "The Hurt We Embrance." This contemporary dance is hard to interpret at first because the dance keeps on repeating again and again. But in the in the end, you will learn the interpretation. The interpretation is this, it was about a girl who is so in-loved with a guy. She struggles to make him notice her but the guy always turns her away which hurts her feeling. But the girl, being a martyr when it comes to love, still tries to get his affection and it is always the same result. This makes the girl so sad depressed but still keeps the faith. However in the end, she just walked away because she got tired of the same result. It was really performed well. The music captured the sad theme of this dance. The costume also showed the theme. The way the performers expresses through their dance really captured the essence of the contemporary dance.

The Classic Dance called "Dancing to Verdi" was choreographed well. I was impressed with the steps that showed grace, poise and beauty.

After the Contemporary Dance and Classic Dance performed by Ballet Philippines and Ballet Manila, there was a 10mins intermission to let the performers have a break and also let the audience stretch or go to the restroom.

After the intermission, the Rural Folk Dance called "Pahiyas Festival" was performed. It was a beautiful and it depicts how filipinos celebrate festivals. Filipino Ballet called "Andres KKK" tells about the past during the time of the of Andres Bonifacio. It was a nice performance although I didn't manage to appreaciate it that much since my eyes were getting tired.

After the Rural Folk Dance and Filipino Ballet performed by the Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group and Philippine Ballet Theater was the last performance, The Global Choreography. The Romeo and Juliet Balcony pas de dux was really amazine. I love it since I find the swirls and twirls of the dancers difficult. And by looking at them, I already felt dizzy. The very last performance called "Night Creature" was also beautiful and the audience enjoyed their performance.

So that it all...Until next time~