By Richard Ford
With the year coming to a close, it was with great pleasure that the Visayan and Mindanao Dance groups along with the Praise Family Apostolate (PFA), and Fil-Oz Liverpool Dancers who are affiliated with the Alliance of Philippine Community Organisations Inc (APCO), proudly shared the last two months of their performance calendar to have the newly talented Philippine dance groups called Pinoy Hip Hop Dance Ensemble and the Boyz Unlimited to perform at their final events.
Pinoy Hip Hop Dance Ensemble received the Bronze (3rd Place) award, while the Boyz Unlimited received Gold (1st Place) award in the World Supremacy Battlegrounds 2012, a competition among international hip-hop dance groups held at the Sydney Olympic Park on 1 December 2012. Four Philippine teams bested competitors from Australia, the Bahamas, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, Taiwan, and the United States of America.
The first event was the Fiesta of the Lady of the Rule at All Saints Liverpool Parish Hall held on 17 November. At this event was the NSW Philippine Consul-General Anne Jalando-on Louis who brought her mother and her Cultural Officer, Ms Rachel Calisin along for it was their first visit to Liverpool’s Philippine Community groups function for 2012. Also present was Dr Cen Amores, the People of Australia Ambassador who congratulated the dancers for their contribution to the wider Philippine Community in performing their ethnic dances. The night was truly a dancer’s night with back-up music from Dids Bohol and Company.
The second event was the Christmas Picnic that was held at Schofield’s Paskuhan sa Centre – Philippine Australian Cultural Centre (PACC) on 8 December, after the morning’s Blessing of the Grotto and the Holy Mass of the Feast of the
Immaculate Concepcion, as well as the Unveiling of the Covered Area by the State MP for Riverstone Mr Kevin Connolly. In attendance was the NSW Philippine Consul-General Jalado-on Louis and members of her staff. Also present were members of Filpressyd. The Visayan Cultural and Mindanao Ethnic Dance Groups performed on such a very hot day. Boyz Unlimited also performed their winning dance which really held the audience in awe with their brilliant dance routine.
The third event was held on the evening of 8 December at the Canterbury Bowling and Community Club. The event was the Christmas “Safari Style” Party held by Maharlika Inc. The evening also proved to be a dancer’s night with performances by all groups present. The Visayan Cultural and Mindanao Ethnic Dance Group performed so well even after a tiring day at Schofields; along with the Maharlika Inc.’s own dance group performing an African Dance Theme. The highlight of the evening was the stunning dance performances by the Pinoy Hip Hop Dance Ensemble, especially invited to be introduced to the Philippine Community.
The fourth event was really a dance spectacular night as all four dance groups came together to celebrate Christmas, with a “Moment in Time” Christmas Get-together at Liverpool All Saints Parish Hall on 15 December. On this night the Visayan Cultural and Mindanao Ethnic Dance Groups as well as Praise Family Apostolate and Fil-Oz Liverpool Dance Group performed alongside the Pinoy Hip Hop Dance Ensemble, with the members of APCO Inc. doing a surprise dance number “Jingle Bell Rock” which made the evening a truly memorable night full of energy and awesome dance routines.
The evening was also made more colourful by the talents of Linda Trinidad who sang two beautiful songs, “That’s Amore” and “Oh Holy Night” and the delightful Ma Paz Bacenos and 10 year old Sharlene Gamo, a new rising star of Visayan/Fil-Oz Liverpool Inc. The children were given a big surprise when Santa Claus made a surprise visit in his sleigh to hand out gifts to all the children present. The evening was presented by Charles Chan from Flagcom and Jhun Salazar, the President of APCO Inc. and VAA Inc. The music for the night was provided by the ever delightful Danny Garcia and Company.
