Miriam College dance troupe and choir win intl titles
Miriam College Middle School Chorus THE Miriam College Basic Education unit showed its mettle at the global stage as its MC High School Sayawatha Dance Troupe and MC Middle School Chorus (MCMS Chorus) scored victories in an international dance and choir competition, respectively.
The MCHS Sayawatha Dance Troupe bagged the second top spot at the World of Dance Finals 2018 held in Pasadena Convention Center, Pasadena, California, USA last July 28.
The dance troupe won despite a lastminute change in its lineup. “One of our team members was rushed to the ER right after our set blocking. We thought
before the competition, the doctors did not allow her to dance anymore,”
San Gregorio, said.
“We scrambled to adjust the routine to make sure all spots were covered, and in spite of the situation, the team managed to lift each other’s spirits up and dance their hearts out,” he added.
The group placed second after competing against 21 teams at the event. Prior to participating at the finals, the group was declared Champion at the World of Dance Philippines last March, automatically qualifying them to represent the country in the Juniors
- nals include internationally renowned
and esteemed professional dancers.
The group, currently coached by San Gregorio and Andrei Arboleda, was formed in 1996. Sayawatha has been a consistent top winner in both local and international dance competitions, among them the Smart Dance competition, Crissa Dance Synergy, Hip Hop International, and World of Dance.
“What made Sayawatha stand out in this competition was the dance style that was used. Usually, dance teams would use new-school hip-hop choreography but for Sayawatha, we explored old-school dances,
Meanwhile, the MCMS Chorus made its voice heard loud and clear, winning the Gold and Silver prize awards in the Folklore and Children’s Choir Categories at the 1st Tokyo International Choir Competition ( TICC) held in Harumi in Tokyo, Japan from July 27- 29, 2018. They also won the Audience Choice Award for the Folklore Category, besting 59 other local and international choirs.
The winning pieces are “Ili-ili Tulog Anay” ( Visayan Lullaby) arranged exclusively for MCMS Chorus by C.B.C. Moral and “Andardi” (Tagbanua Folksong) arranged by A. Arippudin with performance rights Miriam College High School Sayawatha Dance Troupe for MCMS Chorus.
The 30-member, all-girls MCMS Chorus was accompanied by conductor and musical director Sinamar Respicio and its founder and artistic director Jhames Labrador.
“I think this year’s competition is unique for us because, unlike other chorale competitions, it has an elimination round where in you have to send a recording of the group. The adjudicators evaluate who gets to the
for children’s and folklore category. So
round is already something,” Labrador, who is also currently the Middle School’s Music Area Supervisor, said.
The adjudicators of the competition are composed of choir and composition experts from all over the world, including Japan-based Filipino composer John August Pamintuan, Georg Grün from Germany, Javier Busto from Spain, Anton Armstrong, from USA and Nelson Kwei from Singapore.
This is the third competition the young
2017 at the 10th Orientale Concentus International Choral Competition in Singapore where they brought home silver awards for both Equal Voices and Folklore category. On the same year, they joined the prestigious National Competitions for Young Artists (NAMCYA) where they won second prize.