Colonial
Alvin Erasga Tolentino dances Colonial, his 6th full-length solo work and latest creation as director, creator and performer with Co.ERASGA. A critically acclaimed solo performer described as “a serious tour de force, stretching our understanding of what dance can be”, Tolentino’s new work is a trans-continental Canada-Philippines initiative conceived and spearheaded by Tolentino and theatre director Dennis Gupa.
Responding to the intense longing for self-determination and freedom, five Filipino artists of this generation unite to address the complex, bitter and sweet account of Colonialism. In a tapestry of music, video, costuming and dance sourced from the Filipino culture and life, they transport the artist’s hope and voice, bringing a multi-sensorial and trans-cultural piece whose language speaks to a global audience.
Colonized, the artists choose to reveal fearlessly the hidden memories that yearn to be resurrected. Forceful and transformative, these memories became the fulcrum for recuperating the subjugated body that has been controlled and manipulated for centuries past.
Drawing from indigenous performative forms, Tolentino’s choreography enters historical, mythical, personal and political themes where past histories and present contemplation collide. His body transforms in portraits of a primordial Babaylan (a healer-cum-priestess) the Katipunero/Katipunan (a bloodied warrior), and finally Sinag (light personified), who invites us ceremonially to enlightenment. In this new work, Tolentino’s body encounters the real and the imagined past, dissenting the colonist and recovering from the yoke of domination. The dramaturgical and choreographic vigor lies from the premise that the remnants of colonial past can be re-created as a metaphor of light that can guide one to a journey in a country where bodies and souls are free, sacred and pure.
Reviews
The Past: Always Personal, Always Present
A commissioned essay written by Luis H. Francia in response to the creation of Colonial in 2013 and a fitting sentiment in our time of social and cultural shifting.
Photo Credit: Chris Randle and Jim Bonto
CREATIVE TEAM & PERFORMERS
CONCEPTION:
Alvin Erasga Tolentino & Dennis D. Gupa
CHOREOGRAPHY & PERFORMANCE:
Alvin Erasga Tolentino
DRAMATURGY:
Dennis D. Gupa
MUSIC:
Angelica Dayao
COSTUME:
John Carlo Pagunaling
VIDEO:
John Lazam
LIGHTING:
Jonathan Tsang
“It’s a fascinating window into a new Philippines, as well as a new generation of Filipinos and Philippine-Canadians who want to challenge the norm a much as they want to challenge art forms.”
“The goal of any artist is to transport the audience into new worlds of thought, experience and emotion. Tolentino achieved this goal with stunning effect.”
“…coolly contemporary, progressive, and provocative-with a fiery spirit of the revolutionary.”
