Kim Requesto Explores the Possibilities of Philippine Folk Dance in YUGTO

Kim on the set of ‘Dahil Sa Yo’. Photo: Ralph C.R.

Kim Requesto is a force to be reckoned with. A dancer, choreographer, and film photographer with an artistic foundation in Philippine folk dance, her work brings awareness and thoughtfulness to the realities of different communities in the Philippines and the diaspora. She’s been part of the Philippine Folk Dance community in San Francisco since 2005 and continues to perform with Parangal Dance Company as a Dance Master, Choreographer, and Principal Field Researcher; has apprenticed under Kalinga Cultural Master Artist Jenny Bawer Young; gone to Lubuagan, Kalinga to learn directly from renowned Kalinga cultural bearer, Cirilo “Sapi” Bawer; and done research in Indigenous ethnolinguistic communities across the Philippines to both get a stronger understanding of regional cultures and livelihoods as well as to raise awareness and uplift the voices of marginalized communities through her work.

She’s alsooo my forever Philippines travel partner/roommate, a super tender sweet Cancer bb, and someone I’m honored to call a dear friend. So when she asked me to style her performance in her three-part video series YUGTO, premiering this Saturday as part of the 24th annual United States of Asian America Festival, of course I was super down! Presented by the API Cultural Center and Bindlestiff Studio, YUGTO highlights different regional dance experiences of the Philippines and uses movement and storytelling to deconstruct our understanding of Filipino folk dance.

‘Dahil Sa Kanila‘ [Vignette One] addresses the dynamics of gender performativity and its intersection with spirituality through ancient dance forms of Maguindanao province. ‘Dahil Sa Isang Bulaklak’ [Vignette Two] explores sexual fluidity against traditional restrictions of the Spanish colonial period. ‘Dahil Sa Yo’ [Vignette Three] contemporizes our understanding of Pangalay, a stately dance that embodies the flowing currents of the Sulu Sea, by layering the motions with post-colonial courtship music called Kundiman.

We caught up with Kim on the project and how YUGTO deconstructs oppressive colonial values, challenges heteronormativity and gender roles, and redefines diasporic performance and the way we approach inclusivity within folkloric spaces.

Can you tell me a little more about the concepts for each of the three pieces?

KR: Dance is an expressive space for Pilipinxs to connect with their culture and identity. While it can be a way to explore diversity and heritage, dance can also perpetuate restrictive gender roles within a community.

Using aspects of Kapagasik and Kadsagayan, ‘Dahil Sa Kanila ‘[Vignette One] draws inspiration from dance traditions of Maguindanao province and captures movement that transcends the confines of masculinity and femininity.

Asik has been misinterpreted as a slave dance for decades, but contrary to popular understanding, this is an ancient dance practice that has historically been performed for the pleasure of the Maguindanaon royal families. Often attributed to spirituality, Sagayan in its rawest form evokes the ancestral spirit of Prince Bantugan and is traditionally performed by Maguindanaon men. In very rare instances, if this masculine spirit connects with a "woman", they are able to take part in the ritual dance practice.

Laika, age 9, resting after performing Sagayan in Cotabato City, Mindanao, February 2020. Photo: Kim Requesto

In present-day Cotabato City, these gender norms are being put to the test by young generations of female identifying Sagayan dancers. Mentored by their respective male elders, these young persons are dismantling antiquated expectations of gender performativity within their own communities. ‘Dahil Sa Kanila’ aims to expand this movement to the diaspora by giving space to gender nonconforming individuals to find representation within Philippine folk dance.

‘Dahil Sa Kanila’ features Cam Tolentino (they/them/theirs) who is an undergraduate student at SF State. They have participated in the last two productions of Pilipinx Cultural Night hosted by Pilipino American Collegiate Endeavor. Tolentino has often found themselves performing female roles in Spanish-influenced dances collectively known as the Maria Clara Suite. Although Tolentino does not mind performing as female, it admittedly causes them discomfort as a non-binary indvidual to be solely perceived as a woman.

‘Dahil Sa Kanila’, meaning, “because of them,” gives space to gender nonconforming individuals like Tolentino. It demonstrates the possibilities of inclusivity within Philippine folk dance. As our conversations around gender identity develop, we want to ensure that there are opportunities for young, non-binary adults to find space in cultural expression. Breaking down barriers within folkloric dance is a matter of representation. To break down these barriers, cultural dance must not be limited to the romanticization of the past, but must embrace a contemporary understanding of gender in hopes of cultivating a more inclusive future.

As the Pilipinx diaspora moves to embrace LGBTQ+ identities and perspectives against colonial rigidity, there comes a growing need for queer narratives to be celebrated across traditional artistic outlets. ‘Dahil Sa Isang Bulaklak’ [Vignette Two] aims to deconstruct our traditional values and make space for LGBTQ+ representation in Philippine dance.

Named after the famous composition by Leopoldo Silos, ‘Dahil Sa Isang Bulaklak’ is an interpretive number that embodies the truth of affection through subtle glances of the eyes, quick turns of the head, and flicks of hesitation coupled with courage and longing. It is a love story that moves against the grain of classic Filipino folk dance.

From the height of accalimed Bayanihan Dance Company to the prestigious works of the Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group, courtship dances have traditionally centered around patriarchal and heteronormative portrayals of love. These depictions of courtship often leave out critical narratives of sexual fluidity within our communities.

Pangalay is an expressive dance that embodies the flowing currents of the Sulu Sea. ‘Dahil Sa Yo’ [Vignette Three] reimagines our understanding of Pangalay by interweaving the pre-colonial dance form with a popular Philippine love song.

‘Dahil Sa Yo’ incorporates the guidance of Ligaya Fernando-Amilbangsa’s instructional approach called the Amilbangsa Method and the teachings of Ta’u Sug culture bearer Sitti Obeso. The project pairs these traditional interpretations with contemporary movement in hopes of bridging our collective appreciation for Philippine art forms with the authentic experiences of diasporic Pilipinxs. At the core of this body of work, we hope to pay homage to loved ones who have passed on. As ‘Dahil Sa Yo’ was conceptualized in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, this project also aims to honor the lives lost and the frontliners that work tirelessly to keep our communities safe

For those who aren't super familiar with these different dances and musical forms, can you explain a bit about how these pieces are subverting the way they're traditionally done - for example, pairing pangalay with kundiman, or challenging heteronormativity through courtship dance?

KR: Pangalay is a Tausug dance form that is traditionally performed with kulintangan music. But for Yugto, we paired the dance with an acapella rendition of ‘Dahil Sa Yo’ by Lea Salonga. We also worked to challenge heteronormative courtship dance by featuring a queer love story. This opened up the conversation to tackle gender through contemporary interpretations of Asik and Sagayan, dances of Maguindanao that are historically gendered. At the core of this project, we wanted to redefine diasporic performance and the way we approach inclusivity within folkloric spaces.

The idea of diaspora came up a lot when we were talking through the looks and locations for Dahil Sa Yo – can you talk more about this and its importance to the project, as someone who was born in the Philippines and raised in the Bay?

KR: I think it’s important to be able to see that culture isn’t something that’s limited, and a lot of these traditional dances are still alive. Especially when we think of these dances, we think that in order to dance it you have to wear the traditional attire. These dances actually are performed regularly in a community space with people just wearing regular clothes; these movements are part of everyday life. When people don’t have access to resources or exposure to these communities, they wouldn’t be able to know that the communities only really put the cultural attire on for show and for specific cultural events, if there is a ritual or a reason to wear it.

Culture transcends time and space, and dance does that too. It evolves and adapts in movement, and also in attire. For example, I think of Kalinga and how with trading and influence from other cultures, they wear more shells, more beads, and some of these things were traded. I also think of when you go to a community and some of the elders will be in the cultural attire, and then all of a sudden you see one of them wearing sunglasses. That’s the reality of the world, with how time and communities progress and how modernization has taken over.

When most people think of Indigenous people they tend to put them into the past or put them into these assumptions and categorizations of what they think an Indigenous person is. But a lot of them are just like us in the diaspora. The difference is really their location, their culture, their experience.

That’s also why I wanted to be more of myself [in ‘Dahil Sa Yo’]. So yes, I’m doing pangalay, but my intention is to honor people I love, the people who’re still with me and who’ve passed on, the people we’ve lost and the frontliners in this pandemic. So I’m including my experience and my intention as I move and as I dance. I wanted to represent what cultural dance could be, and also normalize what it could be too.

When developing my outfit for the shoot, we wanted to embody the essence of traditional Tausug regalia with a contemporary interpretation. This included layers of bangles, pearls, and rings inspired by the luminous adornment of Tausug women. And flowing pants to match the silhouette of the Tausug sawwal. This ensemble of attire was completed with a custom Pamanang Paniniwala Barong by Vinta Gallery.

I felt it was important to showcase two locations that have symbolic meaning to my life as an immigrant. One captured the Mission District of San Francisco where I grew up and continue to call home. The second location was a beach along the Pacific Ocean, which is our most physical connection to the Philippines.

How are you deconstructing your/our understanding of Filipino folk dance through this project?

KR: We’re deconstructing oppressive values by shedding light on gender and sexual fluidity. Philippine folk dance is a vessel for exploring cultural identity, but it has yet to hone in on gender and sexual identity. Yugto reimagines the future of Philippine dance in a more inclusive light. The word, “yugto,” translates to chapter. We have to ask ourselves: how are we evolving as a community and what is the next chapter for Filipino folk dance? Can we even hope to evolve if cultural performance retains its colonial values? We have to think ahead, and challenge heteronormativity and gender norms traditionally portrayed in folk dance.

Another thing about the series is that it’s in three parts, and there’s a reason why the three parts are presented in the way they are. The first dance is with Cam who’s still in college and still in their PCN org, which for many people is a cultural entry point and where a lot of people first understand what it means to perform culture. Then we move into the second video where we have three dancers – Ian, Brandon and Nikki – all of them are part of Filipino folkloric dance orgs in the Bay Area and also were part of their PCNs in college. So we go from someone currently in PCN and someone who’s gone on from their PCN days and decided to keep going in Filipino folkloric dance, then we get to me who’s been in this for a long time and has also been consistently honing my craft, teaching. So it’s also three different levels of people who are involved in Philippine dance in the diaspora, and what that can look like and what that looks like for us in this moment.

YUGTO screens virtually this Saturday, May 29 from 2-3PM PST. Get your tickets here. For more information on USAAF 2021: Forging Our Futures - SoMA & Chinatown visit https://www.apiculturalcenter.org/usaaf2021.