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ENTRANCE to pleasure
| A resort built
on innovation
Posted: 9:55 PM (Manila Time) | Jul. 05,
2003
By Angelina G. Goloy
Inquirer News
Service
Naked bodies
ADMIRED for the beauty and serenity of
its beaches, Boracay nowadays also conjures up images of nearly
naked bodies cavorting in abandon, no thanks to newspaper/magazine
spreads and TV footage on bikini parades or beer-guzzling contests.
Alas for those not blessed with a figure fit to bare, or who
are at least game to putting on the "Boracay attitude," such
carnival-like events, now virtually de rigueur on the famed Aklan
island, seem to become more daring with each staging.
But none perhaps could be bolder
than the coup of sorts pulled last month by the Pink Patio Resort.
It presented young dancing girls, all right, but they were draped in
Maria Clara lace and frills or filigreed Muslim bridal finery-so
brazenly incongruous to the setting, yet so refreshingly
entertaining!
In an hour-and-a-half program billed "Sulyap,"
the lasses (and lads) of the multi-awarded Kalilayan Folkloric Group
of Quezon enthralled the audience, not with any old "generic" jota
or harvest ritual, but authentic Philippine dances, researched and
culled from various regions of the country, and usually staged in
such venues as the Cultural Center of the Philippines theater where,
in fact, the group has performed.
Resort owners Charlie Uy
and Kelly Boncan conceived of the novel presentation in
commemoration of the 105th Independence Day, in what may well be
their own declaration of freedom from formula attractions. Boncan's
cousin, Rommel Padilla Serrano, a former member of the Ramon Obusan
Folkloric Group, and founder of Kalilayan, fleshed out the concept
as the show's artistic director-choreographer, as well as costume
designer-maker.
Kalilayan-the old name of Tayabas, the
province now known as Quezon, explains Boncan, whose family is from
there-is composed mostly of students of the Manuel S. Enverga
University Foundation High School of Catanauan town. The group is
the 2001 champion of Timpalak Indakan, a dance competition sponsored
by Nayong Pilipino.
Staged at the resort's convention hall,
the program was divided into five segments, representing the three
major island groups plus a collection of tribal rituals and popular
fiesta dances. These included the "Ragragsakan," depicting the
balancing act of Cordillera village women walking along rice
terraces with labba baskets on their heads; the "Paseo de Andaluz,"
the courtship of a demure lady peeking at her suitor through the
ruffled edges of her parasol; the "Singkil," the exotic Maranao
wedding dance that is well-known even abroad; and the popular
"Pandanggo sa Ilaw," "Maglalatik," and "Tinikling."
Even
more charming were the little-known "Pindulas," a courtship dance of
the Yakan of Basilan, characterized by the "broken-arm" movement;
the "Pangamote" of the Talaandig of Bukidnon; and the "Karasaguyon"
of the T'boli, which portrayed a polygamous male in the process of
picking his next wife from among four sisters vying for his
attention, with the jingling of the brass beads and bangles around
their necks and waists the only musical accompaniment.
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VIEW of Vaseux Lake in Okanagan Valley
| As a side attraction,
the guests were invited to get into the mood of the dances by
donning the costumes and having themselves photographed.
"This is our way of helping preserve the nationalist
spirit... It's something our nation badly needs," said Uy, resort
president. Granted, he conceded, "Sulyap" also served as a
lean-season come-on although they weren't expecting any extra
revenue from it. "We're just happy to present something novel," he
said.
The show is but one of the many firsts on which Pink
Patio built its reputation. Uy proudly rattled these off in a
conversational style that's clearly an asset in a business like
this: first to build air-conditioned rooms, fireproof guest room
doors, to install a 40-foot-high wall for sports climbing, to open a
gym, with the latest equipment not found even in Metro Manila,
and-the resort's latest pride- the Alpha Capsule, a machine that
steam-massages while playing soothing music.
"We're the only
one on Boracay who has it," Uy said. Then he recounted his chance
meeting with an American businessman that led to his flying to
Minneapolis to check out the curious contraption, which he
eventually imported.
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STORY HIGHLIGHTS:
Naked bodies
Fiberglass
wall
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Sunday Jul. 06, 2003, Philippines
