For Immediate Release
Contact: Ave Jacinto
Administrative Director for Kayamanan Ng Lahi
kayamanan@earthlink.net ~ www.kayamanan.org
PHILIPPINE MUSIC AND DANCE INTERCONNECT
UNDER THE STARS AT FORD AMPHITHEATRE
Four Multi-Disciplinary Folk & Traditional Arts Groups
Collaborate For September 13 Event
UNDER THE STARS AT FORD AMPHITHEATRE
Four Multi-Disciplinary Folk & Traditional Arts Groups
Collaborate For September 13 Event
(Los Angeles - September 4, 2008)
The Philippines' rich and diverse culture of dance and music will be presented in celebratory fashion -- under the stars – as Kayamanan Ng Lahi Philippine Folk Arts presents MAGKAUGNAY (“Interconnectedness”), Saturday, September 13, 8 p.m. at The Ford Amphitheatre, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East in the Hollywood Hills just off the 101 Freeway across from the Hollywood Bowl.
Presented as part of The Ford Amphitheatre's LA Oasis Summer Series, the evening premieres a creative, rarely performed vibrant collaborative numbers featuring a mix of traditional and post-modernist dance accompanied musically by the resounding rhythms of drums and metal gongs, the spellbinding sounds of the kulintang and the splendidly sublime stringed rondalla instruments.
MAGKAUGNAY features a range of specialized works led by Kayamanan Ng Lahi, with northern hill tribe celebrations by Institute of Native Arts, lowland Spanish-tinged festivities by the Rondalla Club of Los Angeles, and the southern islands' time-honored cultural heritage represented via San Diego’s Pakaraguian Kulintang Ensemble.
The evening marks the first time that all four accomplished groups, rooted in tradition but inspired by contemporary movements, have interconnected to celebrate the Philippine spirit in music and dance.
“Kayamanan Ng Lahi is excited to be working with Institute of Native Arts, Rondalla Club of Los Angeles and Pakaraguian, “ Joel Jacinto, cultural program director of Kayamanan Ng Lahi noted. “These groups are the best in their genre of Philippine dance and music. Although a small island country, the Philippines is very diverse in cultural traditions. Our hope with this collaboration is to show that however different our cultural heritage between the different regions of the archipelago, Filipinos are working together to build a stronger community here in America and we are achieving it through the universal themes and through love of dance and music.”
The event will also feature special guest soloist Camile Velasco, the American Idol Season 3 top ten finalist, to serenade the audience with a Filipino love song as part of the production.
Tickets, priced at $25 for adults and $5 full-time students and children, can be purchased at www.FordTheatres.org or by calling the Ford box office at (323) 461-3673. The $5 tickets are made possible thanks to a grant from Target, sponsor of Target Dance Series at the Ford. Target strives to make the arts affordable and accessible to youth and families because the arts help foster an appreciation and understanding of various cultures and points of view. Tickets are also available by through Kayamanan Ng Lahi at 310-391-2357 or via email at kayamanan@earthlink.net.
More on the Artists:
Kayamanan Ng Lahi Philippine Folk Arts is a critically acclaimed non-profit organization based in Los Angeles, California. Under the leadership of Joel Jacinto, Barbara Ele and Ave Jacinto, Kayamanan is committed to presenting, promoting and preserving the richness and diversity of Philippine culture through dance and music.
Kayamanan's artistic approach is based on anthropological research, resulting in a strong and appropriate translation between traditional folk and folkloric Philippine dance and music forms and styles - from the village to the stage. Noted for its extensive dance repertoire, costumes and music ensembles.
Kayamanan has received numerous accolades including L.A. Times' description of one of the group's concert as " ...consistently exciting and a triumph of enlightened cultural preservation." In addition to performing and holding weekly workshops, Kayamanan also plays a leadership role in providing technical assistance, training and consultation, instruction and planning of innovative and culturally appropriate performances and programs in folk dance to many student and community folk dance groups across the United States. For more information, go to www.kayamanan.org, email kayamanan@earthlink.net or call 310-391-2357.
Rondalla Club of Los Angeles (RCLA)
Rondalla, the traditional string ensemble of the Philippines, often provides the music for Philippine folk dances and is prominent in community celebrations like fiestas, weddings, and other civic and social events serving the Filipino community. Since its inception (1991), RCLA has remained active in various Filipino social and civic functions and is recognized as one of the leading rondallas in southern California. It has been a familiar fixture in the Pilipino Cultural Nights (PCN) held in different universities, colleges and high schools like UCLA, USC, UCI, UCR, CSUN, CSUF, Troy High and Whitney High to name a few. Together, RCLA's members have decades of world-class rondalla playing experience between them, having toured, performed and taught extensively throughout the U.S. For more information go to www.rondalla.org or www.myspace.com/RCLA, email info@rondalla.org or call Tagumpay De Leon at (818) 842-8655 or Patrick Tanega, (213) 399-2117.
The Pakaraguian Kulintang Ensemble of the Samahan Filipino American Performing Arts & Education Center performs gong-chime music and dances from the southern Philippines. Formed in 2003 by UCLA alumnists, Peter Paul De Guzman, Bernard Ellorin, Mary T. Lacanlale, Eleanor Lipat- Chesler, and Nickki Martin-Lustre, Pakaraguian has been performing at various festivals, lectures, venues and universities around southern California.
The group’s main purpose is to accurately represent and educate its audiences on the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) cultures of the Maguindanaon, Maranao, Tausug, Sama, and Yakan ethno-linguistic groups. It is important to note that music and dances from this region are NOT “Muslim music or dances.” These indigenous Philippine cultural arts forms originating from the Muslim Filipinos in Mindanao and Sulu are a part of the Philippines’ Southeast Asian heritage. For more information, contact Bernard Ellorin at 1-619-892-2297. email: bernardellorin@yahoo.com.
Institute of Native Arts (a subsidiary of BIBAK Dance Ensemble)
The Institute of Native Arts (INA) is a cultural arts ensemble based in Los Angeles, which seeks to preserve, promote and perpetuate the indigenous arts of the Igorot hill tribes of Northern Luzon, Philippines. INA is comprised of first and second-generation Igorot-Americans with the purpose of educating the world on the colorful Igorot culture through showcases, seminars, workshops and arts exchanges. Armed with their ever-present brass gangsa, INA's upcoming projects include inventory of ancient artifacts and instruments, archiving native chants and songs, and developing their artistic knowledge to include traditions such as basket-weaving, bamboo instrument creation, tattooing, and recording ancient rites and rituals. For more information call Michael Wandag, Director: 323-378-9872 or Jennifer Catanes, Director: 310-775-1732
More on the Ford
The Ford Amphitheatre is located at 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East, Hollywood, CA 90068, just off the 101 Hollywood Freeway across from the Hollywood Bowl and south of Universal Studios. The grounds open two hours before showtime for picnicking. The Ford offers a number of dining options: a variety of food and beverages is available on site and box dinners for evening events may be ordered in advance. Patrons are welcome to bring their own food and drink. The Ford is disabled accessible. Portable wireless listening devices are available upon request.
On-site, stacked parking costs $5 per vehicle for evening. For evening shows only, FREE non-stacked parking serviced by a FREE shuttle to the Ford, for evening amphitheatre performances only, is available at the Universal City Metro Station lot at Lankershim Blvd. and Campo de Cahuenga. The shuttle, which cycles every 15-20 minutes, stops in the "kiss and ride" area.
This event is part of the Ford Amphitheatre 2008 Season, a multi-disciplinary arts series produced by the Los Angeles County Arts Commission in cooperation with Los Angeles County based arts organizations. For a complete season schedule, directions to the theater and parking information, log on to www.FordTheatres.org.
MAGKAUGNAY, an event produced by Kayamanan Ng Lahi, is funded in part by the Los Angeles County Arts Commission and presented by Asian Journal, Inc.
