TABUK CITY, Kalinga – Kids in Barangay Naneng and Bagumbayan enjoyed a wonderful and one-of-a-kind experience as they received free dance lessons from the country’s premier classical and contemporary dance institution.
Ballet Philippines, the resident dance company of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, came to Tabuk recently to hold their ballet brigade outreach program that aims to bring the art form closer to the masses.
“We are turning 55 years old this coming March 2024 and because of that, we’ve decided to extend our outreach program into a ballet brigade which means a very simple gesture of giving back to the community,” Ballet Philippines president Kathleen Liechtenstein said in an interview.
During the hours-long dance lesson, the children had fun learning the fundamentals of classical ballet. They also got to witness a special performance from the elegant and graceful ballet dancers.
In return, the children performed Kalinga dances including the traditional courtship dance, to the delight of Liechtenstein and her team, who marveled at the authenticity of Kalinga culture.
Liechtenstein said this exchange of dance culture is also one of the goals of their outreach program.
“It’s not that we just want to give them what ballet is, we also wanted them to share with us the culture, their dance culture and so dancing with us the courtship dance and teaching us what it’s all about is a merging, an entwining of two cultures. That is the goal of this ballet brigade,” she said.
“What I really would love to do is make the youth understand that they have a rich culture and that learning more about ballet is a win-win situation because they can also improve the dancing discipline, the dance choreography, the dance interpretation,” Liechtenstein added.
Aside from the dance lessons, Ballet Philippines also distributed grocery items and socks to the children.