Students of the University of Cebu shows a teaser of their performance for the “Yugyugan Para sa Cultura ng Bayan” on April 29 at the Cebu City Sports Complex. (CDN PHOTO/ JUNJIE)
Cebu City will be one of seven cities where a first-ever “dance rally” will have thousands of youths dancing to the tune of “Ako ay Filipino” to promote the preservation of cultural heritage.
“Dance is the most visible connection to our past,” said choreographer and Sinulog Foundation stalwart Dolores Suzara, in a news conference yesterday.
The event, set for 6 p.m. on April 29, at the Cebu City Sports Complex, will be held simultaneously in Angeles City, Pampanga; Baguio City, Iloilo City, Cagayan de Oro City, Batangas City and Rizal Park in Manila.
The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) will draw performers from dance troupes of various universities and communities in Cebu City for the event called Yugyugan Para sa Kultura ng Bayan.
Victor Cuenco, a member of the NCCA’s National Committee on Dance (NCD), said this will be a venue for dancers and artists to express their passion for the promotion of Filipino culture and the arts.
“We’re doing this to strengthen cultural awareness and for people to appreciate how beautiful our folk dances are,” said Cuenco.
He said he hopes to fill the whole sports oval.
About 100 dancers willl perform two to three movements choreographed for the occasion by the NDA during a countdown to the national performance.
The event will be open to the public.
Zumba and performances of Sinulog Dance Crew winners will entertain the crowd during the countdown.
Performers from the University of Cebu, University of the Visayas and University of San Carlos (USC) are some of the groups participating in the event.
The “dance mob” is also being held to celebrate International Dance Day and National Dance Week which falls on the fourth week of April.
Proclamation No. 154 which sets the annual celebration said it aims to “bring together dancers to demonstrate and realize the function of dance to society and the rest of the world.”