Dancing with the Magui
The Magui are here! Magui is short for Maguindanao (or Maguindanaoan). Maguindanao is a region in Mindanao (Philippines) where the folks are predominantly Islamic or Muslim. Alleluia Panis, director of Kularts and the choreographer i've been working with on several dance projects for the last two years, invited the Magui to participate in Kulart's Master Artist in Residence Program. Essentially, she invites Master Artists to come to the US for a month to teach their craft (whether in traditional music, dance, oral or written word, etc), creating a bridge between folks from the "old country" and the folks here in the Bay Area. It's a wonderful and rare opportunity to learn the traditional art forms from the masters themselves, without leaving San Francisco.
As some of you folks may know, I spend a good deal of time and resources on yearly expeditions to various places in the Philippines. The last couple of years, my stomping ground has been Mindanao, specifically the South Cotabato, Saranggani and Davao areas. I visit different ethnic communities, spend a few days living with the locals, and when they let me, I take photos and video of whatever ritual, tradition or craft they'd allow me to document (initially, my goal was to document rare and unpublished dances, but dance encompasses so many aspects of a culture, it was impossible for me to document just dance). I come back to the Bay Area and create exhibits (photo and artifact) based on what i've seen. I've even produced, with Raf, a short documentary on one of the weaving arts (the t'nalak of the T'boli). We've taken our kids to one of our expeditions (and I mean expedition... as in travelling by horse, over mountains and hills,hiring guides, translators, porters, living in huts, no water, no electricity, for weeks at a time). I've learned so much about the folks I met in Mindanao, yet I've really learned nothing. There is vast knowledge there, things I can not learn in school, in a classroom, in a museum, nor in weekly dance rehearsals with a folk dance company. There is simply nothing like witnessing the thing itself, seeing it in context with your own eyes, being in the environment. It's truly amazing to be able to see even just a small part of a culture, witness the lives of a people, even for just a short period of time. I usually leave breathless, overwhelmed, wanting to discover more, because really, I barely touched the surface in my quest to understand. Also, I leave broke, all my resources spent, and I have to wait an entire year, saving my money, until the next trip.
Then, lo and behold... Alleluia comes up with the brilliant idea of bringing the folks here, to share what they know, so we can see and hear the thing itself. And I don't have to spend thousands of dollars (truly!!), live off a backpack, herd my kids through jungles, mountains, rainforests (although I enjoy doing that immensely and intend on continuing to do that for years to come). She brought the T'boli over couple of years ago, and this time, she's brought over the Magui. I've never been to Maguindanao, and I am incredibly thrilled! She has brought the mountain to Muhammed. GREAT!!! Of course it's nothing like the experience of actually being there. But i'll take it!
The master artists are: Ten Abas Emba, a virtuoso Kulintang musician, who comes from a long line of generations of musicians; Karatuan Sangkay "Datuan" Kalanduyan, master of the kutyapi (or 2 stringed lute) and gandingan (or talking gongs); Datu Gutierrez Mangansakan II a descendant of the Buayan and Maguindanao sultanates, a film maker, writer and scholar; Faisal Monal,master choreographer, dancer and musician; Akmad Siao, award winning master artist in Magui dance and music; and Yolanda Mangalumas, expert in Magui culture including cuisine, rituals and indigenous practices.
Their residency includes intensive dance and music workshops, as well as performances at various venues. So she invited over these musicians and the choreographers from the Philippines, but they had no dancers (arts funding being limited as it is nowadays). She agreed to provide the dancers, to be trained in the Magui technique by the masters. She asked four retired Fil-Am folk dancers from SF if they would be interested in being part of the project. She invited Helen Serafino & Nerinna Valera (both were founding members of Baranggay Dance Company, SF), and Emelita Goco & myself (both formerly with Likha). I felt so honored when she called. Of course I'd love to!! She didn't need to ask me twice. Aside from learning Magui dance from the masters themselves, I have an opportunity to perform with three truly awesome, seasoned, trained, beautiful dancers. "I am so there!!" I said gleefully. So what if we're all older now, retired, few pounds (ahem) on the plus side, and have not performed in years. We couldn't resist. I mean, we get to do the thing we love to do, and learn it all over again. We were all thrilled, and very nervous. How audacious, to think we, Bay Area folks, can dance their dances in their presence! What a unique opportunity! When else can this happen? On so many levels this is working for me... as a dancer, as an artist, as an amateur ethnographer and documentarian, as a Filipino American. Whoopee!! Let's do it!
And then, the work started. Alleluia began training us a few weeks ago in basic Magui movement. The four of us came from what I call the Bayanihan technique of folk dance and performance (Bayanihan is the "premier dance company" in the Philippines, heavily promoted by Imelda Marcos herself back during the Marcos regime). There is a definite approach to the dances, a definite "look". Bayanihan's influence on Philippine folk dance and music, how it is taught, performed, and viewed is far reaching. Many Filipino folk dance companies strive to emulate the dance traditions set by Bayanihan. In going back to the studio now, to learn Magui dance technique, all four of us had to, essentially, undo the years and years of training we've had from Bayanihan/Baranggay/Likha. After the initial giddiness, once we set to work, it became, interesting, to say the least.
Last night was our first actual session/ training with the Magui. The experience was a mixture of eager anticipation, awesome humility, and sheer terror.
(more tomorrow....)
As some of you folks may know, I spend a good deal of time and resources on yearly expeditions to various places in the Philippines. The last couple of years, my stomping ground has been Mindanao, specifically the South Cotabato, Saranggani and Davao areas. I visit different ethnic communities, spend a few days living with the locals, and when they let me, I take photos and video of whatever ritual, tradition or craft they'd allow me to document (initially, my goal was to document rare and unpublished dances, but dance encompasses so many aspects of a culture, it was impossible for me to document just dance). I come back to the Bay Area and create exhibits (photo and artifact) based on what i've seen. I've even produced, with Raf, a short documentary on one of the weaving arts (the t'nalak of the T'boli). We've taken our kids to one of our expeditions (and I mean expedition... as in travelling by horse, over mountains and hills,hiring guides, translators, porters, living in huts, no water, no electricity, for weeks at a time). I've learned so much about the folks I met in Mindanao, yet I've really learned nothing. There is vast knowledge there, things I can not learn in school, in a classroom, in a museum, nor in weekly dance rehearsals with a folk dance company. There is simply nothing like witnessing the thing itself, seeing it in context with your own eyes, being in the environment. It's truly amazing to be able to see even just a small part of a culture, witness the lives of a people, even for just a short period of time. I usually leave breathless, overwhelmed, wanting to discover more, because really, I barely touched the surface in my quest to understand. Also, I leave broke, all my resources spent, and I have to wait an entire year, saving my money, until the next trip.
Then, lo and behold... Alleluia comes up with the brilliant idea of bringing the folks here, to share what they know, so we can see and hear the thing itself. And I don't have to spend thousands of dollars (truly!!), live off a backpack, herd my kids through jungles, mountains, rainforests (although I enjoy doing that immensely and intend on continuing to do that for years to come). She brought the T'boli over couple of years ago, and this time, she's brought over the Magui. I've never been to Maguindanao, and I am incredibly thrilled! She has brought the mountain to Muhammed. GREAT!!! Of course it's nothing like the experience of actually being there. But i'll take it!
The master artists are: Ten Abas Emba, a virtuoso Kulintang musician, who comes from a long line of generations of musicians; Karatuan Sangkay "Datuan" Kalanduyan, master of the kutyapi (or 2 stringed lute) and gandingan (or talking gongs); Datu Gutierrez Mangansakan II a descendant of the Buayan and Maguindanao sultanates, a film maker, writer and scholar; Faisal Monal,master choreographer, dancer and musician; Akmad Siao, award winning master artist in Magui dance and music; and Yolanda Mangalumas, expert in Magui culture including cuisine, rituals and indigenous practices.
Their residency includes intensive dance and music workshops, as well as performances at various venues. So she invited over these musicians and the choreographers from the Philippines, but they had no dancers (arts funding being limited as it is nowadays). She agreed to provide the dancers, to be trained in the Magui technique by the masters. She asked four retired Fil-Am folk dancers from SF if they would be interested in being part of the project. She invited Helen Serafino & Nerinna Valera (both were founding members of Baranggay Dance Company, SF), and Emelita Goco & myself (both formerly with Likha). I felt so honored when she called. Of course I'd love to!! She didn't need to ask me twice. Aside from learning Magui dance from the masters themselves, I have an opportunity to perform with three truly awesome, seasoned, trained, beautiful dancers. "I am so there!!" I said gleefully. So what if we're all older now, retired, few pounds (ahem) on the plus side, and have not performed in years. We couldn't resist. I mean, we get to do the thing we love to do, and learn it all over again. We were all thrilled, and very nervous. How audacious, to think we, Bay Area folks, can dance their dances in their presence! What a unique opportunity! When else can this happen? On so many levels this is working for me... as a dancer, as an artist, as an amateur ethnographer and documentarian, as a Filipino American. Whoopee!! Let's do it!
And then, the work started. Alleluia began training us a few weeks ago in basic Magui movement. The four of us came from what I call the Bayanihan technique of folk dance and performance (Bayanihan is the "premier dance company" in the Philippines, heavily promoted by Imelda Marcos herself back during the Marcos regime). There is a definite approach to the dances, a definite "look". Bayanihan's influence on Philippine folk dance and music, how it is taught, performed, and viewed is far reaching. Many Filipino folk dance companies strive to emulate the dance traditions set by Bayanihan. In going back to the studio now, to learn Magui dance technique, all four of us had to, essentially, undo the years and years of training we've had from Bayanihan/Baranggay/Likha. After the initial giddiness, once we set to work, it became, interesting, to say the least.
Last night was our first actual session/ training with the Magui. The experience was a mixture of eager anticipation, awesome humility, and sheer terror.
(more tomorrow....)
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