The Philippine Canadian Association of Red Deer and District (PCARDD) Folk Dance Troupe performed during the City of Red Deer’s Canada Day Celebrations held at the Bower Ponds. This was the 15th year for the organization to participate in the Cultural Showcase. For this year, in addition to their regular folk dance hits of “Maglalatik” and “Sayaw sa Bangko”, they premiered a new repertoire of Maria Clara and other rural dances, as staged and choreographed by Jojo Lucila, an Edmonton-based choreographer and dance director.
Under the leadership of President Alex Capicio, the organization infused new energy to its Folk Dance Troupe via a 10-week workshop on Philippine Folk Dance with Jojo Lucila. This latest initiative saw an increase in number of participants from the Red Deer Community, fulfilling its mandate of conserving and promoting the Philippine cultural heritage in Canada. The young dancers not only experienced the discipline that is always exacted by a professional artist but were provided a context of the various folk dances in our Philippine culture. The successful performance during Canada Day elicited positive reactions from the audience and enthusiasm from Filipinos of all ages to participate in succeeding programs.
Other performers for the Red Deer Canada Day Celebration were the Scottish Country Dancers, Irish Dance Club, Indo Canadian Dancers, Chinese Performers, Ukrainian Dance Group, Salvadorian Society, Belly Elegance and the Tahitian Dancers.
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| PCARDD Folk Dance Troupe |
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| PCARDD President Alex Capicio |
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| PCARDD Dance Troupe in "Bulaklakan" |
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| Choreographer/Director Jojo Lucila with PCARDD President Alex Capicio |
this article was published in Pinoy Times, August 2011 issue
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