KULARTS PRESENTS
THE WORLD PREMIERE OF

Trans Master Philippine Dance Choreographer Sydney Loyola’s new contemporary performance project disrupts the classic binary of Philippine folkloric dance. Dancing In The Light is an exploration of existence within duality. It is the dance of light and shadow, shadow and light relentlessly dancing together.

Choreographer
SYDNEY LOYOLA

Director
ALLELUIA PANIS

Composer
JOSHUA ICBAN

Costume Designer
LADISLAO ‘JUNE’ ARELLANO

BINDLESTIFF STUDIO
185 6th Street
San Francisco, CA 94103

SHOW DATES & TIME
3:00 PM | Saturday, February 11
3:00 PM | Sunday, February 12

PROGRAM SCHEDULE

WELCOME
Alleluia Panis

DUELING DIVAS
(9 min)
Performance by The Rice Rockettes featuring Estée Longah & Imelda Glucose

Everyone enjoys a delicious rivalry story and the Rice Rockettes are no exception! What happens when you put two superstar divas together in the most random of settings? This number was inspired by the real-life alleged rivalry between two of the Philippines' biggest stars of their day and the rare performance that brought them together - Vilma Santos and Nora Aunor.

DANCING IN THE LIGHT
Choreographed by Sydney Loyola

I. Silanganan Buntag/Emergence
(7 min)
II. Araw sa Langit/Across the Brilliant Skies
(8 min)
III. Dilim ng Buan/The Darkness of the Moon
(8 min)
IV. Huni ng Dilim/The Call of Darkness
(10 min)
V. Sayaw Sa Liwanag/Dance in the Light
(9 min)

Performed by Sydney Loyola, Angel Velez, Frances Teves Sedayao, Dre ‘Poko’ Devis, Jae Tioseco, Johan Casal, Sydney Rae Leong, Stephanie Manalo Herrera, Theo Capulong

POST SHOW TALK

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11
4:00 - 4:30 PM

Alleluia Panis, Director – Moderator
Sydney Loyola, Choreographer and Dance Artist
Joshua Icban, Composer

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 12
4:00 - 4:30 PM

Alleluia Panis, Director – Moderator
Sydney Loyola, Choreographer and Dance Artist
Estée Longah & Imelda Glucose, The Rice Rockettes performers

THE CAST

Sydney Loyola
Angel Velez
Frances Teves Sedayao
Dre ‘Poko’ Devis
Jae Tioseco
Johan Casal
Sydney Rae Leong
Stephanie Manalo Herrera
Theo Capulong

ARTISTIC & PRODUCTION TEAM

Sydney Loyola – Choreographer and Dance Artist
Alleluia Panis – Director
Joshua Icban – Composer
Ladislao ‘June’ Arellano – Costume Designer
Annabelle Lopez – Singkil Princess Costume Designer
Wilfred Galila – Technical Director
Aimee Amparo – Production Coordinator
Hana Sun Lee – Managing Director
Dave Ragaza – Tech

ABOUT KULARTS

Founded in 1985, Kulintang Arts, Inc., now known popularly as KULARTS, is the premier presenter of contemporary and tribal Pilipino arts in the United States. Through three decades of service, KULARTS has grown into a leading elder arts organization, uniting generations of artists and community activists in a common effort to build a collective space and sense of belonging. KULARTS creates work that makes visible the contributions of Pilipino Americans and creates room for cultural continuity and knowledge.

This production is made possible with funding by San Francisco Arts Commission and Creative Work Fund by the Walter & Elise Haas Fund.

BACK TO MENU

CREATIVE + PRODUCTION TEAM

LADISLAO ‘JUNE’ ARELLANO

COSTUME DESIGNER
Ladislao ‘June’ Arellano was born in Bataan, Philippines. He trained at the Philippine Women’s University and New York’s Broadway Dance School. He is a lead dancer in Parangal Dance Company since 2008 and performed in works by Alleluia Panis and Sydney Loyola.

WILFRED GALILA

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
Wilfred Galila is a SF Bay Area based multimedia artist. His films were screened at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival and the Asian Art Museum in SF and his art installations were exhibited at several venues in SF. He is a nominee for the 2018 Isadora Duncan Dance Award for Outstanding Achievement in Visual Design for the KULARTS production, *Incarcerated 6×9*.

SYDNEY LOYOLA

CHOREOGRAPHER & DANCE ARTIST
For over three decades, Sydney Loyola has created dance works performed by cultural groups in the US, Philippines, Asia, and Europe. She toured internationally as a principal dancer of Bayanihan Philippine National Folk Dance Company. She is the co-founder of Haraya Dance Project—an ensemble that encourages initiative and participation among Filipino-American trans artists in SF.

JOSHUA ICBAN

COMPOSER & MUSIC DIRECTOR
Joshua Icban is a musician, sound designer, and composer based in Vallejo, CA, and worked with prestigious talents and organizations such as Grammy winner Fantastic Negrito, KULARTS under the direction of Alleluia Panis, Oakland Hip Hop Collective Grand Nationxl and The SF Symphony orchestra with Michael Tilson Thomas.

AIMEE AMPARO

PRODUCTION COORDINATOR
Aimee Amparo has been combining music, spiritual work & healing arts, and travel for 9 years. Each song is a connection to the other, revealing a shared human experience. She uses music to tell the stories that have been passed down to her and to create intention for the future.

DANCE ARTISTS

JAE TIOSECO

Having begun their journey in Philippine dance and music in 2008, Jae Tioseco began dancing under the guidance of Bonifacio Valera, Jr. through Skyline College's Kababayan Learning Community with their PCN Class and Filipino folk dance class. Jae eventually joined Barangay and currently serves as the company’s Managing and Dance Director.

SYDNEY RAE LEONG

Sydney Leong is a performing/teaching artist and Pilates instructor based on Ramatush/Ohlone land in San Francisco. She attended CA State Summer School for the Arts, Ailey School Summer Intensive, LINES Ballet Winter Intensive, and State Street Ballet. She currently dances with Parangal Dance Company.

ANGEL VELEZ

Angel Velez is a dance artist who has performed works by Parangal, eMotion Arts, LV Dance Collective, Embodiment Project, and notable others in the Bay Area. Trained in multiple dance lineages from a young age, Angel draws from Laban/Bartenieff fundamentals and is informed by internal sensations, emotions, and visualizations.

THEO CAPULONG

Theo Capulong is a Bay Area based fashion stylist and dance artist. Certified in Fashion Merchandising and Fashion Styling and Personal Styling at CCSF and B.S. in Marketing at SFSU. Theo dances with Haraya Dance Project, dance collective that create spaces for trans, non-binary & gender queer Filipinx founded by Sydney Loyola

DRE ‘POKO’ DEVIS

Dre ‘Poko’ Devis is a born-and-raised San Francisco Pinay, emerging from matriarchal roots. Poko moves with a foundation of competitive gymnastics, martial arts, aerial dance, and hard-hitting animalistic synergy.

FRANCES TEVES SEDAYAO

Frances Teves Sedayao is a Philippine native whose dance and martial arts training began at CSU, Hayward. Her background includes works with NUBA Dance Theatre, Dandelion Dancetheater, Veronica Combs, Anne Bluethenthal, Laura Ellis, Robert Henry Johnson, Paufve Dance, Nina Haft & Company, Purple Moon Dance Project, among others.

ALLELUIA PANIS

DIRECTOR
Alleluia Panis, Artistic & Executive Director, is the driving force behind KULARTS and respected elder artist in the US and the Philippines. She has created 20 full-length dance theater works since 1985. She was awarded the prestigious 2017 SFAC Artist Legacy, 2019-20 Gerbode Special Artist Award, 2019-2020 Dance USA Artist Fellow, and 2020 Hewlett 50 Arts Commission.

JOHAN CASAL

Johan Casal is an interdisciplinary artist based in the bay area. He is the director and producer of "Manalo: The Movie Musical" a feature-length original movie musical that highlights Filipinx American Stories. Additionally, Johan played the lead dancer for Netflix's production of "The Queens Ball: A Bridgerton Live Experience" in San Francisco.

STEPHANIE MANALO HERRERA

Bay Area native Stephanie started dancing when she was 14. She has performed in various events and festivals with Kariktan Dance Company of which she is currently Dance Director. Stephanie has performed with KULARTS under Alleluia Panis and Sydney Loyola in Maség (2014), BaeMakiling (2016), Lakbai Diwa (2020), Man@ng is Deity (2019, 2021) and various projects since 2014.

SPECIAL PERFORMERS

THE RICE ROCKETTES

The Rice Rockettes is San Francisco’s premier Asian & Pacific Islander Drag Queen Troupe and House. Officially formed in the summer of 2009, the group came together to champion a fun and safe space for individuals in the A&PI communities to empower and express themselves through the art of drag and performance, at a time when drag was not quite as mainstream nor as prevalent in said communities as it is today.