SESP junior Austin Alexandre and Weinberg juniors Justin Marquez and Raudel Cabral dance the binasuan. "The hardest part is being in front of people," Alexandre said. "It's still really fun just finishing a dance and feeling a part of that group that performed."
Weinberg junior Raudel Cabral balances a cup on his head during the binasuan dance.
McCormick senior Elizabeth Tressler, SESP sophomore Christine Farolan and Medill sophomore Jackie Montalvo balance cups for the binasuan dance. Montalvo was part of a Filipino dance group in high school, and she choreographed the dance for the show.
Kaibigan members perform the binasuan dance as the audience eats.
Kaibigan members begin to perform the binasuan, a traditional Filipino dance that involves balancing cups of liquid while dancing.
SESP sophomore Christine Farolan and Medill sophomore Jackie Montalvo do the tinikling dance blindfolded. "There were some people new (who attended) that we've never seen before, so hopefully they enjoyed the dances," Montalvo said.
McCormick sophomore Bomani McClendon tries to do tinikling after the performance, while McCormick senior Tiffany Sevilla holds the bamboo sticks and McCormick sophomore Laurelle Banta watches. "I'm interested in cultural dances and different foods, so I decided to come," Banta said.
Kaibigan members perform the tinikling, a traditional Filipino dance that involves jumping in between and out of a pair of bamboo sticks.
Photos by Rosalie Chan / North by Northwestern
Kaibigan held its Filipino Fiesta on Sunday. As the Filipino interest group on campus, Kaibigan promotes Filipino and Southeast Asian culture. The name of the group, Kaibigan, means "friend" in Tagalog, the language of the Philippines. In addition to welcoming students interested in Filipino culture, the group performs Filipino folk dances at cultural shows, organizes outings to Filipino events. Its major event is the annual "The Pinoy Show," where they display Filipino culture through dances, skits and other performances.
At the Filipino Fiesta, members served traditional Filipino foods, including chicken adobo and lumpia. Members also performed traditional Filipino dances for the audience. Check out photos from the event above.
The first dance they performed was the binasuan. Traditionally, the binasuan involves balancing glasses of wine on the hands and head while dancing. The performers rotate their arms over and under the shoulder, and they spin and move around without spilling any liquid.
Next, members performed the tinikling, which involves a pair of dancers holding a pair of bamboo sticks and clapping the together and onto the ground, while other dancers dance in between and over the bamboo poles. The tinikling is the most well-known traditional Filipino dance, and it originated from when Filipino rice farmers would try to set bamboo traps for birds. Students who attended the event could also try to do tinikling after the performance.