The new year has started, and our dance troupe kicked off things this year in our first ever participation in the Santo Nino Festival in Columbia, SC.  After performing in Columbia this past September, our dance troupe has begun to make a name for itself.  Invited again by Ms. Grace Collins, Columbia played host to us again in their annual Santo Nino Festival, honoring the infant Jesus.  The festival was held at St. John Neumann Catholic School, which included a mass and a blessing of Santo Nino statues. 

The entertainment portion of the festival, following the mass and a dinner, was attended by groups from the Carolinas.  Our dance troupe was showcased during this segment. 

We began our performance with Subli*, a dance where the men are stooped and the women perform with hats.  Our women donned beautiful yellow dresses, while our men wore reds, oranges, and blues. 

We followed Subli* with our National dance, Tinikling*.  Always coming up with new and innovative choreography, our dancers performed and incorporated salakot hats.  Tinikling* is a crowd favorite in Columbia, and was a special request for our dance troupe. 

Ending our performance, our finale was Sinulog*, a perfect dance for the event.  Sinulog* is a dance in honor of the Santo Nino.  The crowd was mesmerized by the golden gowns, the twirling flowers, and the massive bamboo poles equipped with colorful streamers.  Then there was the honoring of the Santo Nino, as our choreographer, donned in a red gown, climbed the bamboo poles carrying the Santo Nino and presenting it to the crowd.  Sinulog* was a feast for the eyes with so many dancers and innovations never before seen!

Our dancers did us proud and represented FAC-WNC very well! The crowd was truly touched and impressed by our performance; in fact we had more offers to return to Columbia to perform and an invitation to go to Raleigh, NC!

It is always an honor to be invited to perform in other venues, and allows us to preserve and share our Filipino culture and bring a sense of 'home' to our kababayans.   Thank you to all our dancers and supporters who took this journey to Columbia with us.  Thank you also to our seamstress, Mely Capella, our choreographer, Mary Ann Ar, and our prop makers, Arnel and Marilou Marucut, Bing Rice, and Brian Rodriguez.  And a huge thank you to Grace Collins and the Filipino community of Columbia for inviting us to perform for you and to take part in this important festival honoring Jesus Christ. 

* Click on the hyperlink to see videos