2000 Gawad Alab ng Haraya Awardee

(Alab ng Haraya Awards)

Isang Hudyat Panimula performed by the Bayanihan Philippine National Folk Dance Company--Ferdinand B. Jose, Dance Director/Choreographer

In "Isang Hudyat Panimula," Bayanihan weaves different storylines around four varying suites. More than a dance production, writer Jennifer Peña says the program imparts "…a deeper impression… of the fundamental concepts of origins, birth, social forces, and overarching design, and an innate relationship among the diverse elements of nature." In this manner, the program celebrates the forces of fire, water, wind, and earth as central to the life of Filipinos, shaping their survival and existence. Tracing a path from the mountains of the Cordilleras through the plains of Luzon to the seas of Sulu, it depicts joys and challenges — battle, work, love, and revelry — as man struggles with the various elements on earth.

As rich as this cultural tapestry is Bayanihan’s own experience. With a long and illustrious existence spanning over forty years, the Bayanihan Philippine National Folk Dance Company looks to the future with high hopes, confidence, and faith in the Filipino spirit of bayanihan. Since being founded by Hon. Helena Z. Benitez, chairperson of the Philippine Women’s University (PWU) in the late fifties, Bayanihan has mounted more than fourteen major world tours and more than a hundred short tours. Its grand tradition of excellence began with its debut at the Brussels World Fair in 1958, where it garnered the highest honor among the thirteen participating countries.

Transcending ideological and political barriers, Bayanihan also became the first cultural group to perform in Russia and the People’s Republic of China as well as the first to tour the South American regions extensively. For these efforts and others, it received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for International Understanding, the only Filipino dance company to obtain such honor.

Yet overshadowing all these honors is what is by far the greatest recognition granted to Bayanihan: the Philippine government declared it the "Philippine National Folk Dance Company" through R. A. 8626. With this honor, the Bayanihan strengthens its status not only as a premiere performing company but also as Philippine ambassadors of goodwill.

It has remained true to its name, a brilliant illustration of the value of working together towards a common end. Dr. Lucrecia Kasilag, National Artist and Musical Director of the company, acknowledges that Bayanihan may venture into a new direction. However, she provides assurance that while the group may depart from the classics, it will do so "…without losing the essence of the folk of bayanihan spirit.

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