Dancing over bamboo sticks, members of Filipino music group Iskwelahang Pilipino Rondalla (IP Rondalla) created a rapid beat to accompany traditional music played on Filipino string instruments.
The group’s performance was part of the Southeast Asian Festival, organized by Southeast Asian Club (SEA Club). The festival, which infused Southeast Asian performances and food, marked the 25th anniversary of the Asian Arts Festival.
“As it is Asian Arts’ 25th anniversary, we decided to continue the Catholic Student Fellowship and SEA Club collaboration started last year to make the first SEA Fiesta. Since SEA Club has only been in existence for two years, and not that many are familiar with SEA cultures, this was our time to showcase to the community an Asia that is in fact much more diverse and culturally rich than [some people] had expected,” said Sierra Jamir ’14, Head of SEA Club, in an email to The Phillipian.
The performances commenced with IP Rondalla, who started off the show with “Kalesa,” a fast-paced and upbeat song played on the guitar, double bass, bandurria and octavina. The song related a story about a ride on a carriage pulled by a horse and was accompanied by foot-stomping that mimicked the hooves of a horse.
Through the song, the performers were able to expose viewers to a rarely-seen part of the Philippines and its culture.
“Our main goal is to make Andover students more aware of these other cultures and not to make too much of a controversy out of it. Dance and music are great ways to appreciate these cultures and build stronger bridges,” said Jamir.
Following IP Rondalla’s performance, Angkor Dance Troupe, a traditional Cambodian dance group, took the stage wearing extravagant yellow and red costumes with gold trim.
“I chose the Angkor Dance Troupe because, for several years now, these Cambodian and Cambodian-Americans have successfully perpetuated and cherished their Cambodian culture, even after the Khmer Rouge disaster in Cambodia,” said Jamir.
“The Dance Troupe’s sole mission is to preserve, educate and innovate Cambodian performing arts. During the late 1960s, there was a genocide, and the Khmer Rouge let it [happen]. 90 percent of our artists, intellectuals, professors, teachers were targeted and nearly everything culture-related was lost, so we work to preserve and bring back all of those things to educate people in communities about the Cambodian culture and provide people with the opportunity to become connected to what Cambodian culture is about,” said Linda Sou, Executive Director of the troupe and daughter of Tim Thou, founder of the troupe.
The Troupe started off the night’s performance with “The Blessing Dance,” a classical dance expressing a greeting of good wishes. The three dancers sprinkled flowers towards the crowd as a symbol of prosperity, good health and good fortune.
“Classical dance dates back to Ancient Cambodia, and our Cambodian history dates back to 800 A.D. The classical dances are more regal, more intricate and really depict royalty and more of spiritual [figures] like gods and goddesses — heavenly spirits that come down,” said Sou.
“The Blessing Dance” was followed by “The Fishing Dance,” which told the story of young men and women in a fishing quarter who fall in love.
“Folk dance is more upbeat [and] fast-paced and really depicts what it means to be a Cambodian living in the village — how do you fish, how do you get rice, how do you harvest?” said Sou.
After the performances, attendees gathered for a traditional Southeast-Asian dinner at tables covered with banana leaves and decked out with homemade pineapple trees and decorative pennants.
“The dinner adds another dimension to the Fiesta and is another way to be immersed in Southeast-Asian culture — it gets your taste buds involved! At the dinner we wanted to celebrate our culture by adding food and bringing people together with food. And that’s something that’s very Southeast Asian. We’re very much about our food and our different cultures merging together,” said Jamir.
The main feature of the dinner was an enormous roast pig. Guests quickly devoured the juicy meat, while also enjoying an array of rices, noodles and curries. One of these dishes was a red, chicken-and-tofu curry accompanied by a creamy, white sauce filled with flecks of red peppers, spices and crunchy green bell peppers.
“The roast pig is really traditional. We always have one for every fiesta. In the Philippines, we always say ‘mabuhay’ which means ‘long live.’ We’ll have Mabuhay Festivals and will always have noodles for a long life and a pig for when we celebrate,” said Jamir.
