Airdance

April 22
8pm
Airdance
Oulet Yard
Q Ave


I was in for a treat! It's been a long while since I've had the chance to watch a studio show of contemporary dance and I was so excited that I forgot to eat dinner before the performance. No worries. It was a night to remember.

The entire show was simple. A bare wooden stage. Spotlights. Music. Dancers. That's all. No fancy lightwork. Costumes were just reconstructed pieces of everyday clothing. The audience had floor mats and benches to sit on. Stripped to the bare essentials. Only thing in focus was the dance. And boy, was it spectacular!

The show opened with the Airdance Co. standing randomly, yet in a constructive circular pattern shouting out random letters. Not at the same time. But each dancer had his own timing as to when they will start. As one would reach the middle of his alpha recitation another would start his own. The change would start when one of the dancers, seemingly finished with his alpha recitation, starts walking briskly around the room counting off from 1 to whatever number. The flurry of letters & number soon ensues and engulfs the room with rythmic chaos. Again, the timing for everyone is different and soon the entire stage has them walking around shouting out numbers like a madhouse of people placing bets. An answer is given for those who have a questioning look on their faces when one finishes his round of numbers. This Airdance member stops. Stands tall & proud and pronounces his name & age. And finishes off with the word: DANCER. One by one, they proudly state their identity & punctuate it with "dancer". Music cues, then the dance starts. Beautiful forms erupt with each beat of the music and for awhile, you are entranced with lovely bodies in different dance forms jiving to music. All in free form or improvisation. When it is over, they start to do their alphanumeric recitation, this time the audience is in the loop that they're spelling out their name & age. And true enough, each finish with the word "dancer" after proclaiming themselves. Walking out of the stage one by one, to a loud flurry of clapping to the audience.

And that's just the opener.

The programme included groups, duos, trios & soloists. Each rendering beautiful interpretations to various haunting music that will either inspire you or awe you.

Rhosam & Bien did a beautiful pair number complete with lifts and mirror image moves. Two words for this: passionate & strong.

A twist to a pair performance would be Airdance apprentices AJ & Johnny's piece to the song "Hiram". In this number, AJ (a UP music major) lends his voice to the dance. Singing while performing. Never an easy task since the breath intake used to sing can vary when dancing. This number had an eerie yet familiar invite to it. It just draws you in hearing a forlorn song coupled with the interesting dance innuendo done by the two. To see & hear everything live... it is priceless. Beautiful.

There were strong performances in the solos of Jethro, Vincent & the couple of Paul & Marielle. All were spellbinding. One cannot put into words how each brought so much character & life to music that the studio almost could not contain it.


In the end, I forgot all about my hunger & was feeling full with all the beauty of dance that I have just witnessed.
This particular studio show entitled "Highway 54" is part of the Contemporary Dance Map Project that ran all month long in April that housed shows from Katipunan to Manila to QC.

Zoom!

I remember one of the instances where I rode like the wind. I rushed from Los Banos to Makati in a matter of 45 minutes. Of course there wasn't any traffic at 1am, but can you imagine the speed it took to cover all that road? Never mind why I wanted to reach my destination that quickly, I'm just glad I got there without a scratch on either my car or myself, hehe!

For those who have that burning desire to speed up, but will not compromise their safety joining drag races in the wee hours of the morning, there is such a place to accomodate that speedlust. A speed demon friend of mine, RL, brought me to City Kart. It sits at the West Service Road in between the Sucat & Bicutan exits. First timers can ease themselves into the world of karting enthusiasts and buy themselves an experience that driving on an empty highway can never bring. The place boasts of a 520 meter long covered track with an extension of another 360 meter outdoor track with a width of 5 meters. It also has eleven technical turns, an elevated steel bridge and at least 3 high speed straight aways (one of which is a whopping 60 meter length straight away) for those familiar with the EDSA-is-free-to drive-on feeling, haha!

For first timers like me, I was briefed on the how to's of the karting world. They dressesd me up in a racing suit, had me put on a balaclava (which is likened to a ski mask or will make you look like a ninja if you pose right, haha!), then a helmet. They also explained how the different flags work. Since I was just racing for fun, I was introduced to the yellow, blue & the well-known checkered flags. A yellow flag would signify that there is danger in the area, and that a marshall waving it would ask you to be cautious of the area you are approaching. A blue flag would mean that a much faster kart is approaching you from behind, and that the marshall will signal you the direction of the driver's ovartaking side unless you choose to speed up. And of course, the checkered flag will signify that time is up and that you will have to check your kart into the pit.

It was a fun 10 minutes of my life! Of course I was really slow during my first 2-4 laps or so, since I was familiarizing myself with the track and the tricky turns, approaching them like i would under normal driving conditions, yet as time passed, I gained familiarity & was more comfortable speeding up and even having my tail whip as i do a hairpin-like turn, woot! woot! You will feel that adrenaline rush as you speed down the straight aways, adjust your speed and body lean with every turn, your eyes checking ahead of the track and the flags being waved at you, your legs pumping a different combination of gas and brake at every second. Your body is wide awake and all senses come alive! It was exhilirating!

The checkered flag brought me back to reality. I eased my kart into the pit (wow, i feel like such a pro, nyahahaha!) and took my helmet off and breathed. It was a rush like no other. Driving home using my car seemed so tame after this, hahahaha!!

For more information on City Kart, log on to http://www.citykartracing.com/ or contact them at 8217087.

Location

I'm still here.
I choose to stay.
Uncertain of when & how this will end.
Unsure of what all these really mean to you.
I'll let this go on and I'll let you set the rules of our game.
I'll let you win ahead & cheat even.
Not because I'm a masochist.
But because I know that if I tell you that I'm tired & I'm leaving, you're never gonna ask me to stay.