CULTURE SHOW
in now-defunct personal blog
March 27, 2005
March 27, 2005
In the beginning there was a culture show.
There’s the script for the play, the traditional dances and then the modern. Oh wait, the modern dance has been left out this year.
But why? you ask. It’s always been in all the culture shows, why not now?
Because we want it to be straight culture, said one member. All the culture shows are always about the same thing – American culture integrating with Filipino culture. I’m tired of that. I want something new. And what’s the significance of the modern anyway? That’s what the afterparty’s for.
But… but… was the reply.
Yes, ‘tis the season for culture shows and everyone’s surely stressed. After all there are exams to be taken, projects to be completed and classes to withdraw from. In the midst of it all, the culture show beckons.
For us, it’s always the busiest time of year. For FACT, it’s most important because it’s the organization’s 10th anniversary. Surely the alumni will be curious to see how their baby has fared since they last left it.
How has it fared? It could’ve been better. But also, it could’ve been worse.
Our main goal was to share our Filipino-ness, learn some and have fun along the way.
But should that really be our main goal? Is our main focus to be Filipino and to make sure everyone knows it? Or is it to share in being who we are – people with different interests, who happen to be Filipino, and live in the United States?
Maybe there’s more to that old cliché of Filipinos assimilating into American culture after all.
Is there really no point to a modern rather than to show our dancing skills (or lack thereof)? Is the whole concept of a culture show undermined by adding the pointlessness of a modern dance? If that’s the case – and if the sole purpose of a culture show is to educate and to stimulate the mind – then why bother with an afterparty?
Why not have a culture session after the show so we can all talk about what we learned? Why don’t we have a real barrio fiesta so we can dance our folk dances? Why don’t we go home, read our Filipino history books and listen to our Filipino music?
Oh wait, that’s not how it works, is it?
There lie the complexities of American culture. Many talk so much about it. Too many avoid it.
Why talk about it? They say. You guys and your Filipino-American talk. You scare me.
Everything always has a deeper meaning once you scratch the surface. Just as how each folk dance has an origin, each modern has a story.
By trivializing the modern dance, we trivialize our entire culture.
Sounds dramatic, doesn’t it?
But hear this.
I lived in the Philippines until I was 8 years old. You wouldn’t know that by talking to me, right? I don’t speak with a Filipino accent. I don’t dress too differently from the norm. I seem to know my English – heck, I’m writing in it, aren’t I?
Such a fact seems so insignificant. Who cares if I lived there?
But maybe I’m starting to give more thought to things I used to ignore.
Don’t forget the language, my mom’s friends told me. Come back and see us, my relatives said. Send us some good stuff, said my cousins.
Sure sure. Smile and nod.
Though I didn’t immediately embrace the American lifestyle, I eventually had no choice. Contrary to what my dad had told me, I wasn’t going back anytime soon. And after I got over the initial shock of calling this strange place named America home, I never looked back.
That’s a cute story, you say, but what does this have to do with the modern dance?
Probably nothing. But maybe everything.
Sure we’re involved in organizations and attend conferences to establish our Filipino-ness. Some of us are convinced that’s all it takes. But how much of what we do outwardly resonates within us? How many of us will leave college with the feeling that we want to give back to our country? And how many probably will pursue careers, remember the happy times we had getting drunk and partying, and move on?
We’re more than just Filipino. Some of us are writers. Guitarists. Singers. Dancers. There’s so much more to us than our ethnicity, and a large part of who we are has been shaped by our surroundings.
So why is it for just one season a year (in our case – one month), we get to pretend like we’re all about our Filipino culture when we’re not?
We indulge in American culture. We listen to it. Sing it. Breathe it. Eat it. Learn it. Read it. Live it.
So why not dance it?
The modern dance exemplifies our Filipino culture assimilating into American culture. We don’t go to clubs over the weekend so we can dance the Tinikling. We don’t normally walk around in barongs or use umbrellas to withstand the summer heat (Yes, umbrellas).
Not all of us can name a Filipino poet, a president or singer. But how many of us can name Jessica Simpson’s husband? The director of “Kill Bill.” The characters in Sex and the City.
Representing an aspect of ourselves through straight culture is fine. But by doing so, are we accurately portraying ourselves or is it merely a portrait of who we ought to be?
If the purpose of taking out the modern is to be innovative and different, that’s cool. But don’t tell me the modern dance has no place in a culture show.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
A few weeks before the show, after I'd passive aggressively posted the link to the essay on my AIM profile (Yep. I'm going way back), the modern dance was added to the show. It kind of sucked. But that wasn't the point.
A few weeks before the show, after I'd passive aggressively posted the link to the essay on my AIM profile (Yep. I'm going way back), the modern dance was added to the show. It kind of sucked. But that wasn't the point.