CLOSEST TO HOME

I am a Utahn. Utah is my home - great mountains, great people and great, efficient highways (although they say Utahns are the worst drivers). However, my heart fancies the nostalgia of my childhood, my Philippines. O.A. lol. Really, I do miss home. 

My world, many ways have changed but – Ako ay Pilipino. “Taas noo kahit kanino.” This is so true, in the many sense of this phrase. Lol.

Coming from different backgrounds, many Filipinos here in Utah find ways to unite, get together, and celebrate Christmas or New Year the Filipino way. I admire the many organizers who sacrifice their time and their resources to promote and create a venue where Filipinos can be unified. One great instrument where Pinoys from different regions in the Philippines bond here in Utah is – DANCE.

KPE

Kulturang Pinoy Ensemble (KPE) is one dance group and Filipino organization here in Utah that promotes the Philippine culture. Kids and adults join together in performing Philippine Folk Dances in community events and cultural shows. What many people don’t see is how these performers sacrifice their time, homework time, soccer practice time even family time for practices. Parents do go out of their way to get their kids to rehearsals. With the limited time and conflicting schedules during practices, volunteer teachers have to resourcefully improvise.  I notice how things just work out in the end despite all the odds. It really does make a difference when people do things in the spirit of fun.

Not only the group assembles in dance practices, they also support each other, celebrating with each others’ rejoices – baby showers, birthdays, anniversaries, wedding, citizenship, etc. I am glad I get the chance to be part of this group. It just feels like home when I am with my KPE family! I love our chaotic fun!

Performance

A lot of the dances performed are meant for fun, sharing to the community the feel of the Philippines.  One of the latest, well-applauded performances of KPE was at the International Folk Festival held at the Sandy Amphitheater. It was one lively, dynamic and colorful presentation of excerpts of Philippine dances.  The show particularly displayed such a jovial choreography, accommodating diverse members in the community - the young, the teens, the young-at-heart (=,  the 10-100% Pinoy, the adopted Pinoy, etc.

My words are not enough to describe everything. So, I'll let the pictures above tell it all.

Kudos to all the performers! Congratulations to Mike, the Art Director! His hard work and dedication are beyond compare. I will soon find some time to chat with Mike to get one blog entry just dedicated to him. I find Mike very intriguing. He drives more than ten hours from LA to get here in UT to teach – folk dance! WOW! I one time asked him where he gets his energy, he quickly replied to my FB message, “from you all”. Awwww. 

More photos: