PH Embassy in Warsaw Brings Together the Philippines’ Bayanihan National Dance Company and Poland’s State Folk Song and Dance Ensemble “Mazowsze”
WARSAW 08 July 2024 – The Bayanihan, the Philippines’ National Dance Company, visited Warsaw on 11-13 June 2024 to perform at the Filharmonia Narodowa in Warsaw on the occasion of the Diplomatic Reception on 12 June 2024 to mark the 126th Anniversary of the Proclamation of Philippine Independence and as part of the year-long celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Establishment of Philippines-Poland Diplomatic Relations.
The day after their successful performance, on 13 June 2024, the Philippine Embassy in Warsaw brought together the Bayanihan National Dance Company of the Philippines and Poland’s premier dance company, the State Folk Song and Dance Ensemble “Mazowsze”, to conduct a cultural exchange/dance workshop.
The Bayanihan, led by Executive Director Ms. Mariel Graciela Benitez-Javellana and accompanied by Ambassador Leah M. Basinang-Ruiz, Mr. Alejandro Ricardo Ruiz, First Secretary and Consul Alena Grace Borra, and Cultural and Information Officer Ma. Chloe Silverio, traveled to the Karolin Polish Folklore Center which is the headquarters of the Mazowsze Ensemble located in Otrębusy in the Mazovian Province about 36 kilometers from the Philippine Embassy in Warsaw.
The Philippine Delegation was welcomed upon their arrival by Mr. Krzysztof Kurlej, Mazowsze Company and Tour Manager, and Ms. Annette Ormańczyk, Chief Specialist for promotion and marketing and coordinator for exhibitions and digital collections. Mr. Jacek Boniecki, Director and Principal Conductor of the Mazowsze Ensemble, also joined to warmly welcome the Delegation.
Ms. Ormańczyk gave a brief tour of the Center’s multi-purpose 540-seat Auditorium, after which members of the Mazowsze Ballet Group conducted a briefing and short demonstration of Poland’s foremost national dance, the Polonaise, and then invited the Bayanihan dancers to join them to perform the dance.
In return, the Bayanihan gave an overview of Philippine folk dances, followed by a demonstration of the basic dance steps of Subli, and then invited the Mazowsze dancers to perform this dance. The whole exchange was very much enjoyed by both sides thus contributing towards mutual appreciation and understanding of each other’s music and dances, costumes, and way of life.
During their brief meeting, Ambassador Ruiz conveyed her deepest appreciation to Director Boniecki for accepting the Embassy’s invitation to arrange this historic cultural exchange between the Philippines’ Bayanihan National Dance Company and the Karolin State Folk Song and Dance Ensemble “Mazowsze”, as part of the celebration of 50 years of Philippines-Poland relations.
The cultural interaction ended with the presentation of gifts and tokens of appreciation to commemorate the visit and first-ever cultural interaction between Poland and the Philippines. END
PHOTOS BELOW: Members of the Mazowsze Ensemble demonstrate their dances and then proceed to teach the Bayanihan their basic dance steps
PHOTOS BELOW: Bayanihan Executive Director Ms. Marielle Graciela Benitez-Javellana gives the initial briefing, followed by the demonstration of the basic steps, the energetic performance of Subli by the Mazowsze dancers, and the demonstration by the Bayanihan of this popular Philippine dance
PHOTOS BELOW: Welcome by the Mazowsze officials and brief tour of the Center
[Photo credit: Warsaw PE]