Co. Erasga - Alvin Erasga Tolentino - Artistic Creator

As the month of May is close to the end, I am like a little fish in the pond of dance.

Researching my new work Adam-Eve to unveil in December. Dancing two of my solos Pinoy Meets ion Zoo (with ion Zoo music ensemble) and Meeting Umbuh. Prepping to reconstruct Paradis/Paradise for a short film with broken mirror and for July's Dancing on the Edge Festival. Lastly, the 15-minute version of Tinikling (Bamboo Dance) for explorASIAN festival.

I balance and titter within my analytical and intuitive world and juggle to strive to do my best to be present for each work. Early this year, I promised myself that despite economical downfall, I should stay with my vision, be at the place I am most happy, DANCE, make the art work and engage with people who hunger to have art in their life.

I find such pleasure in the studio when watching my own body and dancers create a landscape of familiar, unknown, nostalgic, fearless, confusing, solitude, comedic, spiritual and abundance of breath to know that I am still alive!

22 young dancers = 22 gestures. Add exchanging and learning from one another and the sum is a fabric of a 10-minute work entitled While here, disappearance of gestures.

My whole 1st week in Salerno, Italy concentrated on a choreographic workshop held at Scuola di danza for 22 dance students from different towns of the Campania region. Through exploration of rhythm, space, energy and texture, each dancer provided a singular motion that led them to choreographic works fragmented into solos, duet, trio, quartet, quintet and the whole ensemble.

What a treat to work with 22 dancers and move them in space!

Disappearance of gestures stemmed from my observation of communal gathering. As Italians flock, their bodies in motion hover every corner of the historic centre and fill the streets each night. Witness a buzzing, curious, observing, celebratory and intimate but often leisurely living for that moment: "La dolce vita."

I ponder the difference that we North Americans lack such tradition. For the Italians, being out and about and manouvering oneself and another's business are but rituals that enrich and fill the void of isolation.

My 2nd week was spent teaching master classes for advanced and intermediates for 44 dance students in the town of Batipaglia.

Italy, as always, represents an age of ultimate beauty, intoxicating and admirable! (Beginning with oranges and lemon trees in the month of April if it's in the southern region.)

And damn, my palate is refreshed with that special brew tea of licorice, mint and rosemary from the Garden of Minerva. How to handle the right amount of gelati, al dente pasta and good pizza! Or a sweet savouring of rum pictache baba napoli.

Back in Vancouver, I write in the sunny, pinkish height of SAKURA, cherry blossoms. Ah, finally! Close to a week since my return, I barely recover from the 9-hour time difference- jet lag.

Ready to fly away again to Ottawa for BC Scene.

I have just returned from Calgary after performing with Big Sky Collective Multi-Media in the International Animated Objects Festival. Since the late fall of 2008, I have been busy remounting Spirit Whales and Matriarch of the Earth for them, dancing, choreographing and directing. Our last show is February 11 scheduled for the Talking Stick Festival 2009 in Vancouver at the Roundhouse. In this process and performance, I was again reminded of the beauty and work of storytelling and Northwest Coast masks by Big Sky directors Sharon Jinkerson Brass and Victor Reece, two outstanding BC aboriginal artists with their visions to re-connect and share the light, message of the First Nations people. Returning to this work, I reflected on the truth of the arts, my relation to it, the circle of people I work with and my responsibility to the audience. Grounding, staying in the present and finding transformation in performance. I shared the working process and dancing for the first time with Donald Taruc, Alisoun Payne and Starr Muranko.

On the horizon: Partnering with CADA BC classes Feb. 9, 11, 16 and 18. This represents a long overdue teaching initiative that I have been hoping to return to due to my hectic schedule. This partnership is part of Co.ERASGA's outreach for the cost of $5 to provide dancers professional classes. Not a bad deal!

Special master class with Kababayang Filipino dance troupe members (focusing on youth) is held February 15.

A mini research solo for Adam (Billy Marchenski) in my ongoing investigation of ADAM-EVE/Man-Woman full-length creation for 2009.

Then to Tokyo, Japan at Tokyo Performing Arts Market (TPAM) March 4-7 And finally to my homeland, the Philippines, where I give workshops, outreach and lecture as part of the University of the Philippines in Los Banos.