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| "Lemlunay" by Kinding Sindaw, the
New York-based Philippine dance/martial arts troupe, is a dramatic adaptation
of a sacred epic myth of the same name from the T'boli people of Mindanao
in the southern Philippines. The piece tells the story of a Prince Tudbulol
and his seven sisters, each possessing unique and distinct powers. They
battle an evil king who is desperate to abduct them, steal their lands and
extinguish their existence. The epic also abounds with creation stories
including the peopling of the Earth, the Sun and the Moon and the origin
of water. The piece is conceived and choreographed by Artistic Director
Potri Ranka Manis and directed by Wayland Quintero (a member of SLANT, a
resident company of La MaMa).
Kinding Sindaw will illustrate the drama by performing the T'boli people's sacred, ritual and secular dances that imitate and honor nature. Accompanying the dances are lively and rhythmic beats produced on percussion instruments such as various pitched hanging gongs, handheld gongs, the kumbing (jaw harp), the hegelong (two-stringed lute), and the saluray (a polychordal, bamboo tube zither). Melodious T'boli chants-typical of Southeast Asian chant traditions-will also narrate the drama. The production celebrates Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. The company will evoke the T'boli homeland in the highlands of southwestern Mindanao by re-creating the bong guno, the traditional longhouse. Made of rattan, palm leaves, cogon grass and bamboo, the bong guno is where the respected elders make decisions for the community, where weddings are celebrated and where other communal events are held. The dancers and musicians will wear authentic costumes, especially the distinctive brown and black t'nalak (tie-dyed abaca) weave, whose designs represent the dreams and aspirations of the weaver. Other costumes include colorful, embroidered clothing, and beaded head, arm and leg ornaments. The actors and musicians participating are Potri Ranka Manis, Wayland Quintero, Amira Aziza, Diane Camino, Doy Hatta, Johanna Kiamzon, Guro Frank Ortega, Lisa Parker, Malaika Queano, Nur Noni Queano, Desiree Seguritan, Jo-Anne Suriel, Kim Toscano, Tomas Jason Trinidad and Rose Yapching. Lighting is by Tom Lee. Kinding Sindaw (Dance of Light) was founded in 1992 and has performed at the Museum of Natural History, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian Institution, the World Trade Center, Theatre of the Riverside Church, the Alabama International Festival and various community and grass-roots events. Its La MaMa debut was "Rajah Mangandiri" (2000), an adaptation of The Ramayana which was performed in a vibrant tapestry of royal court dances of the Sultanate, secular dances derived from animal movements, Silat martial arts, colorful silk costumes, kulintang (gamelan) music, hanging gongs, talking gongs, native drums, bamboo jaw harp and haunting indigenous-chants from Maranao. Jack Anderson (New York Times) wrote, "Kinding Sindaw created magic when it presented 'Rajah Mangandiri' on Sunday afternoon," praising the "inventive adaptation" which was directed by Wayland Quintero and choreographed by Potri Ranka Manis. Anderson reported that "theatrical wonders abounded" in the shipwreck and battle scenes and praising the "shimmering music by an ensemble of gongs and drums." He added that, once acquainted with the story, children would enjoy the production as much as grown-ups and recommended "Rajah Mangandiri" as "fine wintertime entertainment for families who have overdosed on 'The Nutcracker.'"
David Lipfert, writing in Attitude, The Dancers' Magazine, recounted how "Kinding Sindaw's twenty-six-scene compact version packed in ample action and pageantry to tell the story but keep an American audience highly entertained….Manis's dance sections were a marvel of color and pageantry, and her appearances throughout the show as Oracle and Chanter were models of stylistic clarity. Quick entrances that enabled the players to explode onto the Annex playing area seemed to be her specialty. Up to seven live musicians playing instruments related to those in Javanese gamelan ensembles only added to the fun….La MaMa should be applauded for adding Kinding Sindaw to their lengthening list of dance-oriented companies to appear there." The troupe was founded in 1992 by Potri Ranka Manis (Princess Essence of Sweetness), the daughter of a Sultan of the Maranao people of Mindanao, a true modern-day princess and tradition-bearer, trained since childhood in the traditional dance, music and martial art forms of her people and of other Philippine indigenous groups. She lived and worked periodically with the T'boli people from 1979-1985. Her other performance credits include "Draupadi," a dance drama based on the Mahabharata, which was directed by Ellen Stewart in May 2002, and the 1998 full-length independent film "Disoriented," directed by Francisco Aliwalas. She is a resident artist at La MaMa E.T.C. and at Lotus Fine Arts where she also conducts classes. Ms. Manis is about to become the first Muslim hospital chaplin in history. In her "other life," she is a medical-surgical nurse at Cabrini Hospital, Manhattan, and has just today finished the first phase of her certification in its Chaplaincy school. She will be qualified under "non-Catholic" chaplaincy. There is no ordination in Islam, but there is a breakthrough in the notion that woman can do a religious job. "Healing goes beyond the medications I am giving," she says, knowing out of experience. She says, "Women will open up to women." Director Wayland Quintero is American of Filipino ancestry, whose parents are descended from the Igorot and Ilokano peoples of the north. Kinding Sindaw's repertory is built upon the dances, music, and orature
of the T'boli, Maranao, Maguindanao, Yakan, Jama Mapun, Higaoonon, Tausug
and Bagobo peoples of the southern Philippines. The troupe exists to assert,
preserve, reclaim, and re-create the traditions of dance, music, martial
arts, storytelling, and orature of the indigenous peoples of the Philippines.
By asserting their arts and traditions, the historical and contemporary
stories of these peoples are brought to life.
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