Philippine National Dance Company to Perform Oct. 26 at UB

By Kelli Bocock-Natale

Release Date: September 26, 2001 This content is archived.

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BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Philippine National Dance Company Bayanihan will present the third performance in the UB Center for the Arts 2001-02 KeyBank Dance Series at 8 p.m. Oct. 26 in the Mainstage theater in the Center for the Arts on the UB North (Amherst) Campus.

The performance is sponsored by KeyBank.

With its early roots in the Filipiniana Folk Music and Dance Committee of the Philippine Women's University (PWU), it was in 1957 that the PWU Bayanihan Folk Arts Center and its performing arm, the Bayanihan Philippine Dance Company, were founded by Helena Z. Benitez to conduct researches in ethnic rites, tribal folklore and regional folk ways; to collect indigenous art forms as expressed in music, dance literature, arts and crafts; to distill and transform these cultural traditions into theatrical presentations, and to promote international understanding through cultural exchange and performances abroad.

The company, which has performed all over the world, takes its name from the ancient Filipino tradition of Bayanihan -- working together for the common good. It is this spirit of togetherness that bonded parents, teachers, researches, technicians, dancers and musicians, working as one in a common effort to achieve the objectives of the company.

The first Filipino group to perform on Broadway, Bayanihan also was the first non-American dance company to take the stage at New York's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, as well as the first Philippine cultural group to perform in Russia, the People's Republic of China and throughout South America.

Tickets for Bayanihan Philippine National Dance Company are $20, $16, $12 for the general public, and $10 for UB Students. Discount coupons are available at all area KeyBank locations. Tickets are available from noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday in the Center for the Arts Box Office and at all Ticketmaster locations, including Kaufmann's and Movies Plus. To charge tickets, call 852-5000; in Canada, call 416-870-8000. For more information, call 645-ARTS. For group sales, call 645-6771.