Ng KABA-taan is a thesis dance production by the graduating dance major students, batch 119, also known as Type A Productions, under our thesis adviser, Sir Biag Gaongen. Type A Productions include Kamille Bautista (Director), Nicole Simon German (Production Manager Head), Sofia Marie Tolentino (Production Manager Assistant), Gabriele Logarta (Script Writer Head and Marketing Assistant), and Mary Angeline B. Espiritu (Marketing Head and Script Editor Assistant).
The thesis dance production will confront social issues like overcrowded classrooms, illiteracy, teenage pregnancy, and social classicism impacted by poor-quality education in the Philippines. We believe that education strongly influences our society, and we hope our thesis dance production can instigate or spark a movement for improvement for the benefit of our future generation. Furthermore, the show will run for an hour and consist of five (5) choreographic dances with a storytelling element, the last being the finale and call to action as we aim to open the conversation and have a discussion about the problems in the Philippines current education system so that quality education can be accessible to all.
The story of Ng KABA-taan focuses on the perspective of a young student and her mother as they recognize the issues they face in life. Subsequently, the student and the mother experience discrimination due to their poor educational background, hindering them from experiencing a better life and the freedom to achieve their dreams. Moreover, the story portrays the flaws in our society, the lack of opportunities and resources the underprivileged have compared to the privileged in the Philippines. This societal flaw makes it immensely difficult for the underprivileged to progress in their career and enjoy life. This divides the privileged and the underprivileged. Ng KABA-taan aims to share a message that seeks a call to action in our education system: for equal opportunities, inclusivity, and creating a society where all people have access to quality education. Advocating for quality education for all Filipinos is a suitable springboard for discussing a much broader scope of the social illness that plagues Philippine society.
Moreover, Ng KABA-taan has original compositions for each dance, approximately 7 to 10 minutes long, produced by our music composers Cezan Azul Cabacungan and Angelo Rodriguez. Cezan Azul Cabacungan is a scholar graduate from the University of Santo Tomas Music Conservatory with a bachelor’s degree in Music Technology and Composition. Angelo Rodriguez also graduated from the University of Santo Tomas, Conservatory in Music, with a degree in Bachelor of Music Major in Guitar Performance.
In addition, Ng Kaba-taan has a cast of eleven (11) talented dancers with a strong technique in contemporary and emotional artistic range relevant to the concept and themes of each dance. The cast consists of five (5) being Type A Productions and an additional six (6) dancers from De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde’s dance program. Other collaborators that comprise the production team include the production crew, set designers, documentation team, lighting design team, and marketing team, primarily professors and students from Benilde.
Ng KABA-taan will be staged at De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde’s Design and Arts Campus Theater on the 30th of March, 2023, at 2:00 pm and 6:00 pm, and on the 31st of March, 2023, at 3:00 pm. The address of the DAC is De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, Design and Arts Campus (DAC), 950 Ocampo St, Malate, Manila, 1004 Metro Manila. This production will hold three shows with the same program and is open to the general public. Ng KABA-taan is CSBLife Accredited, which means that attendance at the production could provide CSBLife students with credits for their class. One may buy tickets via bit.ly/NgKABAtaanOrderForm or through our QR code and link on Ng KABA-taan’s social media pages.
Ang pagnanais ay hindi sapat. Dapat tayong kumilos.
