Sillimanian dance, string groups hold concert

THE KWERDAS, ORKESTRA SIN ARCO, and Silliman University (SU) Dance Troupe joined together to perform an allstring orchestra and folk ballet show they dubbed as “Bailar Sin Arco” last Feb 24-25 at the Luce Auditorium.

The first part was a presentation of Michael Dadap’s “Folkloric Ballet Suite” which was about rice-eating birds known as tikling. These birds are also the inspiration for tinikling which has become one of the Philippines’ highly-recognized folk dance.

The second part was a 12-song set by the Kwerdas which featured folk songs, original Pinoy music, and some classics.

The finale was a dance and rendition of a rondalla piece arranged by S.R. Imperio entitled “Bakas ng Kahapon.”

All three ensembles started as student groups who flourished as successful entities, not only in SU but also the Philippines.

Kwerdas started out in 1999 as a rondalla group for the sole purpose of performing for a soprano student that time. Since then, they have been performing nationally and internationally, representing SU and the Philippines in different rondalla festivals.

Orkestra Sin Arco, which means “an ensemble of plucked stringed instruments,” is the first of its kind in the Philippines. They played for the “Ampalaya Musical” in 2015 and is led by their resident conductor, Mathilda Limbaga-Erojo, assistant professor of the College of Performing and Visual Arts.

The SU Dance Troupe was started in 1961 by Lucy Jumawan and was disbanded for a while in 1998. It was revamped in 2015 under the leadership of Angelo Sayson.