ROFG ROFG
Menu Close

2006 – Hawaii – Brigham

PerformanceBallet Folklorico de Filipinas
  
Date and TimeMar 16 , 2006 – 07:30 PM
VenueBirgham Young University Hawaii
Performance Series
TheaterCannon Activities Center
TypeInternational Performance
  


Brigham Young University Hawaii
Performance Series Presents
Ballet Folklorico De Filipina

Thursday, 16th March 2006 Cannon Activities Center – 7:30pm

The Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group (ROFG) known internationally as “Ballet Folkloric de Filipinas” celebrates 34 years of preservation and perpetuation of Philippine traditions with special emphasis on music and dance.

Founded in 1972, the ROFG started as a fledgling dance company, composed of some thirty performers. Drawing upon the vast amount of data and artifacts accumulated during years of dance and ethnographic research, Ramon A. Obusan envisioned a dance company that would mirror traditional cultures of the Filipinos through dance and music.

In Asia, the group has represented the Philippines at numerous dance festivals and conferences. In 1994, ROFG had a six-month residency at the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Village in Sentosa, Singapore, performing not only Filipino repertoirebut dances of other Asian countries as well. In 1995, the ROFG performed at the hugely successful benefit for overseas Filipino workers in Hong Kong.

The ROFG has created a niche presenting folk dance performed very close to the original material based on his field research. Boasting over a thousand performances in the Philippines and abroad, the ROFG has been a resident dance company of the Cultural Center of the Philippines since 1986. At the 1983 Hong Kong Festival of Asian Arts, critics described ROFG’s work as “the stuff an arts festival should be made of.” All 21 performances at the 1986 Canadian Expo in Vancouver were marked by standing ovations which were repeated during its 1992 tour of Japan. In 2001 it was awarded the Sining Kalinangan of the City of Manila as Outstanding Folk Dance Company.

In 1999 the group again toured Japan, and in 2000 the company received the ASEAN Travel Association Award for Excellence in Tourism. In 2001, the company traveled to South Korea, the United Kingdom, the U.S., and Iraq for a series of performances and workshops. In 2002-2003 the ROFGagain performed in Hong Kong.

The company toured Europe in 1987, 1990, and 1993, including, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Yugoslavia. In 1996 ROFG was again in Europe-France, Turkey, Greece, and Sweden, and in 1998, the company performed at the Lisboa Exposition in Portugal and in Milan, Italy.
In spite of international accolades, the ROFG has never forgotten the people who are the very source of its inspiration. For the past two decades, Obusan has documented and performed the dances, music and rituals of more than 50 ethno-linguistic groups in the country. With more than twenty outstanding full-length Filipino dance works, among which are the memorable suites from the Cordillera Igorot, Bagobo, Maranao, Talaandig, T’boli, Tausug, Maranao, and the Aeta, the ROFG has continuously striven to perpetuate with authenticity the music, songs and movements of these cultures.

Upcoming Performance
Laughing with Samoans
8th July 2006 Cannon Activities Center – 7:30pm
Sponsors for the “Ballet Folklorico De Filipinas”

Ramon Obusan is Freeman Artist in Residence. The Freeman Foundation Artist Residency is a project of the University of Hawai’i Asian Studies Program funded by a grant for the development of undergraduate study of Asia by the Freeman Foundation

.

24 Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

© 2021 RAMON OBUSAN FOLKLORIC FOUNDATION, INC.