The UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe performs a rural suite routine on the final day of the Cultural Center of the Philippines's (CCP) Pasinaya 2024 on Sunday, Feb. 4, at the CCP Front Lawn. (Photo by Patrice Jerica A. Beltran/ The Varsitarian)

VARIOUS artists from around the country, including several UST students and alumni, performed at this year’s Pasinaya, the multi-arts festival organized by the Cultural Center of the Philippines’s (CCP). 

To mark the start of the National Arts Month this February, Pasinaya 2024 featured a series of events and performances from Feb. 3 to 4, which was joined by writers, visual artists and performance artists. 

Part of the performers this year was the UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe, who rendered a performance of their rural suite routine on Feb. 4 at the CCP Front Lawn. 

In an interview with the Varsitarian, Salinggawi Dance Troupe president Germaine Geneta said performing at the festival was a privilege and an opportunity to showcase Filipino heritage. 

“[I]t’s always a privilege for Salinggawi to be invited [since] we get to carry out that mission and vision of promoting Filipino arts and culture, especially in the Thomasian community,” Geneta said. 

The first part of their folk performance had a mimetic theme, depicting various birds native to the country such as the lapay, tulabong, and tikling bird. 

It was followed by the sayaw sa bangko, where the Thomasian dancers showed their acrobatic and footwork skills as they rendered a number atop benches. 

Geneta said that because many of Pasinaya’s audience were students, the event could serve as a way to “encourage their fellow youth to be more engaged in their Filipino heritage” amid the rising influence of foreign pop cultures. 

“Definitely, Pasinaya is a time for us to patronize our own,” she added.

The UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe has been performing for the open house festival since 2016. 

Meanwhile, Thomasian musicians part of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) also performed at Pasinaya 2024, as they took part in the festival’s finale on Feb. 4 at the CCP Front Lawn. 

Assoc. Prof. Herminigildo Ranera, PPO resident conductor and UST Conservatory of Music faculty member, said Pasinaya is a way of paying tribute to all artists in the country. 

“Because here, everyone is together…The whole country can see that artists are united,” he told the Varsitarian

Thomasians who are part of the PPO include UST Conservatory graduates John Peter Bautista (oboe), Ariel Sta. Ana (clarinet), Frenvee Andra (bassoon), and Ernani Pascual (French horn); as well as faculty members Reynato Resurreccion (oboe), Ricson Poonin (trombone), and Jay-ar Mesa (French horn).

The orchestra kickstarted its performance with the medieval Latin piece, “O Fortuna!”, alongside performances from the Alice Reyes Dance Philippines and the Philippine Madrigal Singers.

It was followed by the orchestra’s rendition of “Paraiso” by Smokey Mountain, performed by singer Sheila Valderama Martinez and the ACTS Manila dancer, Pam Buot.

To cap the event, all artists gathered on stage to perform “Tagumpay Nating Lahat” by Lea Salonga.

More than 45,000 people attended this year’s Pasinaya celebration, according to Dennis Marasigan, vice president and artistic director of CCP. 

This year marked the first time in which the celebrations were held in multiple locations, with artists performing simultaneously in Iloilo City, Tagum City, Davao del Norte, and other partner museums in Manila.

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