damomoo

Congrats to Likha

We just had a huge weekend with the dance troupe and I have to say I was very surprised at how well the show went. It really didn't look too promising after friday's dress rehearsal and since we were dancing with the Bayanihan USA Alumni things could have gone really south for Likha. Let me just lay this out for you.

The show was a tribute to the four national artist for dance of the Philippines. This was not the way to honor them when every dance had issues.

With the Bayanihan Alumni performing with us, the difference could have been night and day, especially since we're sharing the same stage. You can really embarrass yourself out there, not to mention all of Likha.

After all of the hoopla about touring in Europe and having success out there, if we couldn't pull it off in front of our own audience, what worth do we really have in our own community. It reminds me of Michael Jackson now, how he is ignored her in the US but loved all over the rest of the world.

Our dance director, Rudi, had a lot on the line for this show as well. He was on stage, directing his old friends, as well as putting his own group, almost in comparison with them. Was the torch ready to be passed to us?

After all of the build-up, both shows were amazing. It really was the difference between night and day, friday to saturday. Dancers hit their marks, musicians hit their notes, the lighting was magnificent and the crowd was into the whole thing. After friday's practice, your first feeling is that we dodged a huge bullet. But when you look at the big picture, after everything Likha has gone through this past year, I feel like we had our cake and ate it too. We seized the opportunity, made the big shot, hit the big home run, scored the winning touchdown. That is the way to finish the season and I am proud to have been a part of it. And yes, I would have loved to have been on the stage with them instead of with the tech crew, a part of my own torch has been passed to the newer generation of Likha. I'll be back next year, but it's going to definitely be on the stage, with a rejuvination and a desire to continue to keep Likha at the top of our game, and still continuing it's mission.

Real quick, it was great to see all of the "oldies" in the audience (especially you, Rpaul! We miss you!) For those of you that plan on coming back, it can feel weird at that first rehearsal, but it's really like riding a bike, you never forget. Also, next year is our 15th year anniversary, pretty amazing! Oh yeah, and if you were at the show and from another troupe, now you know why people come to see us...

posted by DJ John @ 9:38 AM