Sayaw Manila 10 – UP Manila Indayog Says Thank You
When in Manila, the hustle and bustle may get on your nerves, but this shouldn’t be an excuse to stop doing the craft that you are passionate about, whatever it might be — taking photographs, dancing, singing, painting, or even writing. Last January 26, I got the chance to watch UPM Indayog’s annual dance concert at the Star Theater in Pasay City, where I witnessed the company’s love for their craft through an hour and a half showcase of their talent and passion.
The minimalist backdrop for the Sayaw Manila 10 concert
This year, UP Manila Indayog Dance Varsity celebrated their 10th year through “Sayaw Manila 10” with the theme Ten-Q (thank you) as a way of showing their gratitude for the past years as a group. The team has been a regular on various dance competitions such as the RX 93.1 Rhythm Street as well as the yearly Sketchers Dance Battle, where they bagged different awards during the past years.
UPM Indayog’s take on doxology: Interpretative Dance
Despite their huge popularity in the hip hop dance community, the team does not only groove through swaggy music and sick beats; they also explore on other genres such as jazz, contemporary, krump, funk, and vogue, just to name a few. In fact, UPM Indayog’s ten years has proven them to be one of the most versatile dancers in the country, incorporating different moves on their cuts and routines, making each performance incredibly interesting.
UPM Indayog’s RX Competing Team
During their concert, the company told their story by using different key words — Qanto, Quod, Quilt, Qorona, Quiz, Queen, Queso, Questions, Quintessential, and Quieme — that perfectly showcases the group’s inspirations on dancing. With scenes from classrooms and hallways, to dance routines that shows rebellion and happiness, UPM Indayog has definitely transcended their message and gratitude to everyone who’s watching their performance.
The group as an annoying high school bunch
Along with the themes, they also came up with a very unique playlist for each routine. The group used different songs to encapsulate each moment; from Rocksteddy’s rendition of “Blue Jeans”, to A Great Big World’s hit ballad “Say Something”, the concert was exactly as entertaining and emotional as I thought it would be.
The group when they performed Alice and Wonderland
One of my favorite routines was definitely the Alice and Wonderland cut, where in they portrayed a scene when the Queen of Hearts found out that Alice took her scepter. They did mostly contemporary and theatrical dance moves, which I quickly fell in love with. Aside from Alice and Wonderland, they also had another routine dedicated for fiction and fantasy, which featured Phantom of the Opera.
Sizzling the dance floor with their moves
The group also invited various dance groups to celebrate their 10th year. Groups such as UPM Belle, Camp Synergy, UP Pharmakinetics, LPU Wild Style, and Krump Pinoy were there to perform and commemorate the group’s existence at the dance community.
LPU Wild Style showing their swag
UPM Indayog Dance Varsity’s Sayaw Manila was definitely a blast, for the dancers, and the dancers at heart. This passionate bunch made me wanna move my body and dance to the beat, and basically just get my feet to the dance floor. Sayaw Manila 10Q was definitely a successful concert. As you say your gratitude, we would like to thank you, too, for showing us that we could still relive our passion, no matter where we are, no matter how old we’ve been.
Soar high and don’t stop dancing. Because when in Manila, there will always be a place where you can pour your heart out.
