Culture Philippines Ontario (CPO) Dance Group at the ASEAN Youth Cultural Performance

Culture Philippines Ontario (CPO) Dance Group at the ASEAN Youth Cultural Performance

Consul General Orontes V. Castro, Cultural Officer Cecilia Santos and Fatima Muallam with Culture Philippines of Ontario dancers
(Photo: MC Ramos)

TORONTO–The Culture Philippines of Ontario (CPO), upon the invitation of the Consulate General of Indonesia in Toronto through the Philippine Consulate General, performed at the ASEAN Youth Cultural Performance on Saturday, 26 October 2019. Consul General Orontes V. Castro, accompanied by his Executive Assistant Fatima Muallam, Cultural Officer Cecile Santos and Consular Assistant Oliver Baranda, attended the event. Alongside the cultural performance was a Food Bazaar called Kedai Indonesia, organized by the Indonesian Consulate General in Toronto.

The ASEAN Youth Cultural Performance, which was organized by the Indonesian Consulate General in collaboration with the Consulate General of the Philippines and the Vietnamese Community in Toronto, was officially opened by the Indonesian Consul General Leonard F. Hutabarat. He thanked the Philippine Consul General and the Filipino and Vietnamese communities in Toronto for participating in the event.

The ASEAN Youth Cultural Performance featured different art performances by youth representatives from the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia. The audience were awed by the the Klana Topeng dance from Central Java in Indonesia, the Ao-Dai dance and Ly Cay Bong 16 string instrument from Vietnam, the Yossim Pancar dance from Papua, Indonesia, the Binasuan and Pakong dances from the Philippines, and the Legong Bapang Saba dance from Bali, Indonesia.

The CPO dancers – Sherilyn Tortola, Nina del Rosario, Mika Reyes, Carmina Salazar, Danica Torres, and MJ Tortola – wowed the audience with their excellent performance of two (2) Filipino folk dances, Pakong (Igorot dance where young women utilize split-fork bamboo called bungkaka to drive evil spirits from the land to bring a bountiful harvest) and Binasuan (meaning “with the use of drinking glasses”), a folk dance from Bayambang, Pangasinan. The performances left the audience hanging with excitement over the dancers’ balancing of the glasses on their heads and in their hands as they move to the music.

(PRESS RELEASE)