Ingenuity of Malong Fascinates in Online Workshop
Hundreds of participants from all over the world joined the “Move with Malong: An Online Cultural Workshop” last 11 September 2021 where they learned about the story of the malong as well as a few steps of the Kappa Malong Malong dance with Ms. Leonor Petra Elepaño from the Bayanihan Dance Company.
PASAY CITY 20 September 2021 — What can be done with a tubular piece of cloth like the “malong”? Hundreds of participants from all over the globe found out the creative and ingenious ways that the malong can be used at the “Move with Malong: An Online Cultural Workshop” held last 11 September 2021 via Zoom, and broadcast on the Department of Foreign Affairs’ official Facebook page and YouTube channel.
The “movers,” as the participants were called, were able to discover the story, the various different uses of malong, as well as a few steps of the Kappa Malong Malong dance with engaging host Chal Lontoc-Del Rosario and the Bayanihan Dance Company, led by movement master Petra Elepaño.
The two-hour online workshop began with a creative performance of the Bayanihan Dance Company in the newly-restored The Metropolitan Theater, which showed the elegance of the Kappa Malong Malong dance. This was followed by the opening of the Malong Kit, which all movers received from their respective Philippine Embassies and Consulates General. The movers also discovered how the malong was called “the garment from life to death” as it is used in various ways by Filipinos in their daily lives. Finally, the movers were able to learn how to move with the malong through the interactive workshop.
“I learned a lot about honoring the malong, respecting the journey that it has, and just how versatile it is,” said Oratilwe Kobane, one of the movers from South Africa.
“I have heard about it, and known about it but dancing with it actually? It’s really exciting! I am enjoying this so much!,” added Maria Gow, a mover from Japan.
“Move with Malong: An Online Cultural Workshop” is organized by the Department of Foreign Affairs in partnership with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). The event, held in observance of 2021 as the Year of Filipino Pre-Colonial Ancestors, also acknowledges the cooperation of the Bayanihan Dance Company and the support of The Metropolitan Theater. END
Female participants learned to make the skirt while the male participants learned to make the turban using the malong provided to them by the Philippine Embassies and Consulates General.
Participants actively posted on their social media pages the ways they use the malong in their own ways.
Participants received a free malong kit from the Philippine Embassy or Consulate General in their area, which they used during the event.