07 September 2016 — From August 24 to 28 Philippine folk dances dominated the scene at the Old Arbat in Moscow.

As part of the Philippine Street Festival at the Old Arbat, volunteers from the Filipino Community in Moscow performed before a mixed audience of Russians and foreign tourists. 

The dances performed were the banga, bendian, takik, and balangbang, the cariñosa, the pandanggo sa ilaw and the tinikling.

To promote a better understanding and appreciation of the dances, the Philippine Embassy prepared and distributed flyers in English and Russian describing the different dances, their origins and the significance of the movements.

The audiences throughout the Festival, composed of local and foreign tourists as well as Russians from all walks of life loudly applauded the performances. They also enjoyed the Filipino delicacies, Philippine food products and patronized the Philippine fashion accessories and handicraft at the Festival.

After the performances, a number of Russians volunteered to try their hand at the bendian and tinikling, much to the delight of the audience.

The performers were from the Philippine Embassy Cultural Performance Group (PECP) and the BIBAK. The PECP was organized by Dr. Cesar Dalida, a long-time Filipino Community leader and Third Secretary and Vice Consul Luningning Camoying, a former member of the Leyte Kalipayan Dance Company. The BIBAK is composed of Filipinos from the provinces of Benguet, Ifugao, Bontoc, Apayao, and Kalinga in the Cordillera region and aims to promote fellowship and preserve the rich cultural heritage of the peoples of the Cordilleras in northern Luzon.

The Philippine Street Festival at the Old Arbat was held from August 24 to 30. It was organized in cooperation with the Moscow City Government. END