They were too early for the night's
performance but they had to be there to prepare and block. Waited patiently they did for
the sky to darken, for the moon to come out, because in a few these
children will dance on the stage before a crowd.
Every Tuesday, the Kathara Dance Theatre Collective performs at Taboan with their signature cultural dances. The audience
are not as many compared to Fridays and weekend nights when local
bands grace the stage and people celebrate the end of working weeks
by drinking.
It's an ordinary Tuesday for the
Kathara performers, for the waiters preparing for the night's duty, for
the people who dined at the restaurants that border Taboan. But for
these children, this was no ordinary Tuesday. They were about to
dance and that made them happy.
One hour, two hours passed, the lights
went on on the stage and the idle chattering stopped. The musicians
of Kathara climbed to the stage and positioned
themselves before their assigned instruments. Kulintang, dabakan,
agong. Then a narrator began, signaling the start of the show.
The Manobo music started. Clad in
colorful Manobo costume, the children danced to the music, some not
synchronized, despite several times of dance rehearsals. Not
synchronized, yes, but charming and lovable nonetheless.
People clapped, cameras flashed. They
reached the tableau and their time on the stage ended. The dancers
from Kathara segued with their own set of tribal dances to continue the show.
This was the third time the kids of DS
foundation performed on a Tuesday night at MTS. But the excitement in
them always felt like it was their first.
One Tuesday night before a crowd, they
owned the stage even for a while. They were dancing and they were
happy. And that's all that mattered.
Labels: cultural dance of DS foundation children, DS foundation children at MTS, DS foundation for the differently-abled, People, special children of DS foundation Davao
