PROLOGUE
Company Call
The  company prepares for performance. Performers warm up and do pre-rehearsals routines. A prelude  to  the  main features.

NEO-ETHNIC VIGNETTES

EARTH, WIND, FIRE and WATER
The elements of Life merge with Man. This dance vignette interprets the integration of the various spheres of nature in sprouting the “seed” of Life. Earthly and wave-like hand gestures inspired by Mindanao movements are bases for this pulsating composition.

THE LEGEND OF MARIA CRISTINA FALLS
One interpretation of the many legends about the Maria Cristina Falls, Mindanao’s most famous waterfalls located in the Northern City of Iligan. This dance narrative depicts the intriguing story about the waterfalls’ origin. A Rajah’s unbridled lust for one woman leads to a plunge and a magnificent spray of mist and rainbow. Adapted from the poem of CHRISTINE GODINEZ-ORTEGA, with prose text by REX ORTEGA. Principal choreography by NOLLY CEBALLOS.

A NEW TALE OF SARIMANOK
Sarimanok’s duty is to feed the flock with fish in the legendary land Bayang Lawa. Flying outside of the land is forbidden by custom. A new friend IBON convinces her to fly and soar above and beyond the lake to see the waters below and the fishes that teem. This dance vignette is a deconstruction of a storyline adapted from the legendary Maranao bird, also a symbol of wealth and prestige.
 
 

LOVE AND DEATH AT MUDDAS
(a TauSug story)

Muddas (now Siasi in the Sulu islands) is setting to a heart-rending tale, a forbidden affair between a Christian soldier and a young TauSug lady, strictly taboo by Islamic custom. Unknown to the community, she carries his baby but marries another Muslim native who is not aware of her predicament. The graceful waves of the sea, a storm that lashes the sea’s calm (“Sisabros”), and the town wharf are fitting backdrops to the tale that ends with the lilting melody of the sad love song “Susulan Tawi-Tawi” (Tawi-Tawi Beach). Adapted for the stage from a story by TauSug poet Anthony Tan.

THE TALE OF THE BIRD and FISH
Once upon a time, a bird made friends with a fish. Their friends in the forest were happy too. Despite their being different animals, they adjusted to the ways of each other’s lifestyles. But men arrived and altered their homes. Adapted from a Maranao folk tale.

TRICKSTER TALES.

SI PILIMON, SI PILIMON
Pilimon is a fisherman. Finding the biggest catch for a large profit should buy him a whole night of native wine (tuba). But his means are unusual. Inspired by the Visayan folk song “Si Filimon.”

MONKEY BUSINESS
(Ungguy-Ungguyan) 
The trickster tale is popular in Filipino folklore. Here, this tale is given a new twist by a trickster, a wise monkey, who outwits them all. Well, not really everyone ....
 
 

ETHNIC SUITES

SINULOG SUITE
Invocations to the gods and spirits open this suite about the various peoples of Central Mindanao. The indigenous (lumad), Muslim, and lowland Christian communities integrate emphasized in their rituals and daily concerns that celebrate life and assure its continuity and vitality. This suite celebrates the natives’ assertion of their identity.

KALILANG
The Maranaos of Lake Lanao celebrate. Occasion may be the announcement of a wedding, a bethrotal, the crowning of a new datu (ruler), victory in war, or almost anything. A kanduri (thanksgiving) presents entertainment, music and games, jousts, the dances of war, courtship and manners.

KAPAMALONG-MALONG
The malong is the rectangular tubular cloth worn by the Maranaos of Lake Lanao. This suite portrays the versatility of this ubiquitous costume in the Maranao lifestyle. It is bed, portable toilet, blanket, shelter, and many other uses. In this dance composition, the malong’s versatility is portrayed as the common prop that weaves life’s vignettes.

BINAYLAN-BANOG
The banog (hawk) stalks her prey - a mother hen and her chicks. The banog turns from hunter to hunted as baganis (hunters) spot her. In the jungle, the fittest survive. Adapted from the original choreography of RAMON OBUSAN of the dances of the Higaonon of Misamis Oriental.

PIGAGAWAN
From the Bukidnons, courtship. The women outwit each other for the attention of a man. Adapted from a RAMON OBUSAN choreography.
 

EPILOGUE
The ending offers prayers for harmony among Mindanao’s peoples, harmony with each another, their land, and with nature.  The ensemble celebrate with a song.

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