Panasadiyaw in Greenbelt 3

I was meeting up with my friends Martin and Jane on Friday night to have dinner, and the initial idea was for us to have dinner in the Manila Ocean Park area. The venue changed since Martin found out that there was this dance concert entitled 'Panasadiyaw' in Greenbelt 3 that he wanted to see and Jane and I thought it would be an interesting show to watch.

'Panasadiyaw' was performed in the staging area right in front of Havana and Seattle's Best, and I have to say it was a brilliant show, one that I would definitely not have minded paying to see (the show was actually free). There were two 30-minute dances that comprised the one-hour show. The first half, 'Karga Tapas', was choreographed by Dwight Rodrigazo and performed by a dance troupe from Bacolod. The dance itself was an interpretation of a rice harvest, and you could see this clearly with the movements and even the costumes. The second half, 'Panadamlong Bulan', was choreographed by Max Luna III and showcased different freelance dancers who together performed the Pangalay, the Pangasik, and the Pangiluk. The original concept of these dances is based on the Buddhist concept of male and female celestial angels, common as characters in other Southeast Asian dances.

It was breathtaking to watch these dancers perform as their incredible grace, skill, strength, and technique were at full display. You could clearly see just how difficult most of their moves were, and the fact that they had to dance for half an hour and maintain the same power and strength they had at the start all the way 'til the end utterly amazes me. Both dances were accompanied by live music, performed by what I understand to be the former members of the Pinikpikan band, and it certainly made the show more vibrant and gave it a stronger energy.

We joined the "afterparty" since Martin was friends with some of the organizers, who invited all of us to join them for some pica pica in 'Kitchen'. We hung out there for a bit before moving to People's Palace so we could have a full-on dinner and so we could all catch up a bit more. A few of Martin's friends joined us for our late dinner as well. It was certainly a wonderful night filled with arts and culture, amazing food, and great conversation with good friends.