Arts festival features the Philippines’ dance, music

TAIPEI, Taiwan –– The 2008 Asia-Pacific Traditional Arts Festival kicked off yesterday, featuring a string of performances by famous musicians and dancers from the Philippines.

The festival, organized by the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) and the Council of Cultural Affairs, will span from Oct. 10-19 at the National Center for Traditional Arts in Yilan County.

The Council for Cultural Affairs opened the National Center for Traditional Arts (http://www.ncfta.gov.tw/) in January 2002 with the aim of keeping alive traditional arts that have been dying out in modern societies.

Speaking at a press conference, Minister of Cultural Affairs Huang Pi-twan said the festival will give Taiwanese the rare opportunity to better understand the traditional culture of the Philippines, which is one of Taiwan’s closest neighbors.

She noted that several historical sites in the country have become UNESCO world heritage sites, under the government’s effort to protect and showcase the rich culture of the Philippines.

“It is a golden opportunity for us to learn about the treasures of the Philippines,” she added.

Among others, the festival will feature the Bayanihan National Folk Dance Company and the Banda Kawayan, as well as demonstrations of traditional Philippino craft.

The Bayanihan National Folk Dance Company has been committed to passing down various types of Philippino music and traditional dance elements to later generations and abroad for over half a century.

The troupe will perform dance numbers that accentuate both the styles of the central Philippines and of the former Spanish colonialists, including Mantones de Seda (from Spanish bullfighting) and flamenco.

The Banda Kawayan is famous for its unique and creative music performance styles that depict love songs, sleeping songs and pop dance numbers that include lively bamboo pole dances. Their basic instruments are the marimba, traditional Islamic instruments such as lira gabbang, the low-toned bumbong and panpipes, as well as melodic angklungs.

Philippine Representative Antonio I. Basilio acknowledged that the Philippines are Taiwan’s closest neighbor, but their country’s rich culture still remains unknown to the Taiwanese.

“We hope the festival will help promote a better understanding with the Taiwanese,” he said.