An afternoon drizzle did not stop the world-renowned dancing inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) from presenting a “sneak peek” of their special dance for Pope Francis yesterday afternoon.
Clad in their bright-orange jail uniforms, over 2,000 inmates formed a giant human cross as they performed a dance interpretation of Jaime Rivera’s We Are All God’s Children.
Choreographer Vince Rosales said they will upload a video of the dance on YouTube ahead of Pope Francis’ arrival in hopes of “persuading him to change his itinerary and come to Cebu.”
But if the Holy Father sticks to his schedule, Rosales said they will perform the dance as a way of welcoming him during his arrival on January 15.
“The goal really is for this performance to reach him (Pope Francis). We were also affected by supertyphoon Yolanda in northern Cebu and our inmates are eager to see him,” he told Cebu Daily News.
Pope Francis is scheduled to visit the Philippines from Jan. 15 to 19. On Jan. 17 he will fly to Leyte to meet with survivors of supertyphoon Yolanda (Haiyan).
‘POPE DANCE’
Unlike their trademark high-energy dance moves, the inmates’ ‘Pope Dance’ was characterized by slow and solemn movement.
At the beginning, inmates emerged in a single line from their cells with hands clasped beneath the chest as if prayeing.
One by one, they formed the shape of a cross as other inmates circle around the figure to the rhythm of Gregorian Chants.
The inmates started dancing when “We Are All God’s Children” was played.
At the end, a large poster of a smiling Pope Francis was brought out by inmates at the top of the cross. Other dancers held up white linen on both sides.
Rosales, who is not an inmate, said it only took them two days to practice the dance. Some elderly inmates, he said, personally appealed to be able to join the performance.
For inmates, he said, the dance is a form of prayer invoking their swift release, especially for those who are still on trial.
“Their prayer really is for them to be granted clemency and to leave jail. Many are still on trial and insist that they are not guilty. I know that because I’ve been here for a long time,” said Rosales.
PAPA KIKO’S MEN. The famous dancing inmates of Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) form a giant cross as they dance to singer Jamie Rivera’s ‘We Are All God’s Children’ in a performance they dedicate to Pope Francis.