The Evolution of Dance

              For New Years, I traveled to a small island north of Panay Island called Boracay, which is the tourism hotspot of the Philippines, and celebrated with about 40 other Peace Corps volunteers. I arrived to Boracay around noon on Friday, the 31^st, with the rest of my training cluster. We looked for a place to eat lunch and immediately agreed upon a Mexican restaurant we spotted. None of us had seen a Mexican restaurant in months. After lunch, we got to the beach and found a bunch of other volunteers who were already there. It was so much fun spending time with so many other volunteers, some of whom I hadn’t met and others whom I hadn’t seen since orientation back in Manila.

                After some badly needed afternoon naps, our night began. After stopping for dinner at (guess what), another Mexican restaurant, we went to various bars and clubs along the beach. Boracay is really cool because there is a long strip of beach with bars, hotels, and restaurants along the way. The cover prices were very minimal and no hotel controlled any section of the beach. So although not all the volunteers were staying at the same place, we were easily able to go out with each other. At about midnight, we all met up at a bar on the beach and at midnight watched fireworks over the ocean. Then, we all went off to various clubs and danced for a couple hours, until it was time for some late-night food at, you guessed it, another Mexican restaurant. That makes 3 Mexican restaurants within 12 hours. Not bad.

                 

                 The next day we managed to get to beach at the same time we had the previous day, despite not having to travel all the way to Boracay. We had a fun afternoon in the ocean and took some more power naps before going out one more time. Although the scene was much quieter than the night before, we still had a really fun night. After finishing dinner (not at a Mexican restaurant), my friends and I met up with some of the other volunteers at a bar, which was on the second floor of a building. There was a big hole in the middle, leaving the dance floor open to the elements. That wouldn’t be noteworthy if it weren’t for the fact that it was raining the entire we were there. So for at least 3 hours about, about 40 of us drank at the bar, sat on the couches, and danced in the rain. It was a really nice change of pace from dancing around with 12-year-olds, although I’m not sure my shoes will ever recover.

                I woke up early on Sunday to get back to Guimaras in the afternoon. My sitemate, Denise, and I crammed into the front seat of a van and held on as we swerved in and out of oncoming traffic for about 4.5 hours. It was good to get back relatively early, since there was a fiesta in the plaza for the next 3 nights in a row in Nueva Valencia.

Boracay, not the Jersey Shore. Behind the photographer was the beach where we counted down at midnight.

Grupo Grabe plus Jack, our British friend who's doing an internship and living near Elliott.

It's not sweat, I swear.

Boracay.

                 On Monday, it was DepEd (Department of Education) night, and each school put on performance. Denise, an English teacher at Nueva Valencia Central High School, got to participate in the closing number. Most of the performances were done by the students of the different high schools in Nueva Valencia. The festival was the 1st Annual Foundation Day Celebration (celebrating the establishment of the municipality) as well as the 3rd Sadsaran festival. Sadsaran translates to street dancing, and the school dances were supposed to replicate the “evolution of dance.” So, in general, the performances started with all the kids dressed like indigenous warriors (generally shirtless, banging on drums, often with spears or shields). They would do a dance or two until the Spanish came out. They would chase off the indigenous dancers, who would run behind the portable stages and change. Then Spanish salsa dancers would come out and replace the Spanish soldiers and missionaries, who also ran back to change. Next came the Japanese (during World War II for you non-history buffs) and would attack the female dancers (to the laughing of the crowds). Then the Japanese were replaced by the Americans, who were subsequently followed by Filipinos. The transition of power from the United States to the Filipinos generally seemed to be portrayed in a friendly manner, and in one dance a man with a Filipino flag and another with an American flag stood side by side. Just when you thought the dances might be done, they would start going through the decades. They generally started in the 50s. Elvis Presley was common, as was “Twist and Shout.” After some swing dancing and disco music, my favorite era, the 90s, arrived. There was hip hop, some Vanilla Ice, and even a little Backstreet Boys and N’Sync. Eventually some contemporary songs were played, and the dances ended. My favorite featured dancers from every time period dancing together to the newest pop songs.

                The next day featured a (quite short) parade, which I got to walk in with the other members of my office and the newly elected MFARMC members. Afterwards came the official Sadsaran festival. This time, different barangays put on well-rehearsed and well-choreographed dances in elaborate costumes. The theme of the evening was Community-Based tourism, so each barangay had a different theme representing what was special to each barangay. The dancers from my home town, Concordia, were dressed up as chickens, as we are home to the Native Chicken Festival. Some dancers were dressed as caribou and others as fish. One dance group did a very imaginative and elaborate rice harvesting dance. And another barangay, which has the Homecoming Festival, did a dance staring a man leaving his wife and child to work and of course, eventually return. The dances were quite impressive and were very fun to watch. 

                The following day was the announcement of Ms. Sadsaran. A government degree mandated that all LGU workers attended the beauty contest, but it would have hardly made a difference, because the plaza was absolutely packed. Filipinos love beauty contests, and this one was a solid 5 hours long (with several intermission numbers showcasing even more talented individuals of Nueva Valencia). My favorite part was the interview section, although the talent portion too was entertaining. The winner did some tango dancing, but I thought the most creative was a girl who did a bar-tending / juggling / dance routine. All in all, the contest was very fun, but the highlight for me was definitely that the host of the show was my supervisor, Sir Obing. He and Candy, the other announcer, made quite the duo, announcing and describing the girls at every step of the way. Plus they spoke in English the whole time, so that made it all the more pleasant for me. 

As you can see, we didn't have the best seats for DepEd night. The tribal dances began the evolution.

In Spanish costumes.

The 90s.

The parade the following day.

Walking with the MFARMC chairms.

Dancers dressed as caribou.

This looks safe.

Dancers from my barangay, Concordia.

Ms. Sadsaran beauty competition.

Big turnout.

You guessed it. She's singing She Wof by Shakira.

                    About  hours into the show, I decided to grab a snack, hoping for some roasted chicken on a stick, at the food court, which was set up outside the plaza in an empty grass field. After watching well over 10 hours of dancing and singing performances in three days, I thought I could skip some of the show. The food court had been constructed out of bamboo about a week before and consisted of small stands for different restaurants and shops. When waiting for my chicken skewer, I wanted to grab a beer as well. With Denise sitting upfront in the VIP section and Nanay Elsa having had to find a chair elsewhere, I was ready to consume my chicken and beer alone. When I was waiting for my beer, I recognized one of the men who had recently been elected BFARMC chair for his barangay during the reorientation meeting a couple weeks ago. He recognized me as well and saw that I was looking rather aimless, so he signaled for me to sit down. I joined him and his three friends. We ended up sitting and chatting in Hiligaynon for well over an hour. Usually when I with a group someone speaks some English, but in this instance, this was not the case. While I am far from fluent, the beer definitely made the Hiligaynon easier to speak and understand. The guys bought my beers for the rest of the evening and were more than happy for me to sit and talk. I shouldn't have been surprised, since the Filipinos I have encountered thus far have been so incredibly gracious towards me. When it was time for me to go home with Nanay Elsa, they all gave me their numbers and told me I could come to their homes for food whenever I was in their barangays. It was such an unanticipated and delightful gathering. A great way for me to end the festival.

           
           For everyone back home, Happy 2011 and of course, Happy Nueva Valencia Foundation Day!