2019-09-28 - Springfield Culture Fest

During the 2019 Springfield Culture Fest, Sayaw FilipinOH presented seven native folk dances from their Spanish and Fiesta Suites and three Hip Hop dances. As with all their dance performances, Sayaw FilipinOH performed to glorify God by sharing the Philippine Culture through dance and by uniting people who have a love of learning about other cultures.

Their first dance was the Mazurka Boholana. The Mazurka Boholana is a Spanish-inspired ballroom dance from the Bohol province. Although the Mazurka is the Polish national dance, it was wildly popular throughout Europe and in colonized lands in the 19th century. The Philippine version of the dance is performed by men and women partners.

Their next dance was the Paru-Parung Bukid. The Paru-Parung Bukid, which means “Butterflies in the Field,” is a Filipino folk dance to a humorous song that compares flirtatious Filipinas to colorful, fluttering butterflies. The Filipinas are dressed in a glamorous formal dress and moves about, swaying their hips as everyone looks on.

Next, they performed a dance medley to the songs by two popular Filipino Hip Hop musicians. Southboys, by Ex Battalion and OC Dawgs, is a tale about kids, hardened by the rough neighborhood in which they live, that express themselves through their music. Similarly, Bebot, by the Black Eyed Peas, is about a Filipino kid that grew up in the barrios and went to the big city to earn money to send to his mother to help her support the family.

They followed these with two more Hip Hop songs. Believer is a Hip Hop dance that tells the story of an aimless man who falls for and learns about the facts of life from a strong woman, whose philosophy and criticisms are based in reality. He objects to her harshness, but life proves her right. He makes improvements and wants her, but her interest in him fades with his inability to take charge of his life. Faith is about people who walk through life with blinders on; they can't see what's in front of them. They struggle with personal problems, have many demands on their time, have an emptiness they long to fill. They forget they can turn to HIM. They need to put their trust in GOD and HIS truth... They just need to have Faith.
 
Their next dance was the Sakuting, a Fiesta dance that comes from the Abra province, home to the Ilocano people. It portrays a mock fight using sticks. A sakuting is a striped stick or bamboo used for combat training. During this playful Sakuting folk dance, two teams circle and clash bamboo sticks in a gentle imitation of martial arts sparring.

Next, they performed the Lubi-Lubi, a very popular ballroom folk dance that has its early origins in the provinces of Leyte and Samar in the Visayan region. Lubi means “coconut.” The Lubi-Lubi dance derives its name from the song the dancers and spectators customarily sing during the performance of the dance and it is often introduced to break monotony. The Lubi-Lubi dance’s mass appeal is so widespread that many variations have evolved. In our interpretation, the men flirt with the women.

Their next dance was the Subli, which means “stooped” or “bent” in English. The Subli refers to the posture adopted by the male dancers and is a favorite of the people in the Batangas province. The Subli is a ceremonial dance honoring the Holy Cross. The Holy Cross is a patron of many towns in this region, which has a strong tradition of dance and music. The dance of Subli originated in the barrio of Dingin in Batangas.

Next,they danceed Karatong Subli, which combines two dances: the Karatong, a traditional Filipino dance where the men strike bamboo tubes tied to their waists; and the Subli, a Catholic devotional dance where the women alternate between donning straw hats and gracefully waving the hats about while weaving their way in between the men.

Their final dance was a fast version of the Tinikling. The Tinikling is a Fiesta dance that originated in the province of Leyte in the Visayan region. It is the most popular among Philippine folk dances. The dance imitates the movement of tikling birds as they dart between grass stems, run over tree branches, and dodge bamboo traps set by rice farmers.

The Sayaw FilipinOH ended their performance by inviting the audience to learn a slow version of the Tinikling.