Douglas Nierras Powerdance performs in Winnipeg
Philippine’s Premiere Dance Company in modern, jazz and show dance, Douglas Nierras Powerdance, performed before the Winnipeg audience last October 5 at the Maples Collegiate.
The show titled Dances of Filipino Heart and Soul (Mga Sayaw ng Puso at Kaluluwa) is created, choreographed and directed by the multi-awarded Powerdance founder himself, Douglas Nierras.
It is not your ordinary showcase of traditional folk dances as Nierras aims to give the audience a different experience and show what it is like to live now in the Philippines. Through intense choreography interflowing powerful music, compelling emotions, and modern visual technology, Powerdance was undoubtedly successful in communicating each act to the audience, leaving everybody in awe.
The show had 2 Acts which included performances inspired by social issues and Nierras’ personal stories and endeavours. The show started with a backgrounder of him through a feature with the show “Pipol.” Nierras also shared through a video interactive a flashback on how Powerdance, then Hotlegs, started when founded in 1988.
In the act “Yolanda,” Nierras shared his own experience on how the super typhoon left his hometown, Tacloban, devastated when it hit the Philippines 6 years ago.
“Contemplaciones Sobre Una Flor Filipina,” on the otherhand, depicted the challenges of the overseas Filipino workers.
Other acts talked about different kinds of love which were soul-stirring, leaving the audience sentimental.
Douglas Nierras Powerdance has truly brought dance to an unsurpassed level with three decades of awards and recognitions while its founder, Douglas Nierras, continue to work his life-long mission which is to educate the people and the future dance artists in the Philippines through Choreography Clinics and Scholarship Program.
The show was brought to Winnipeg through Dante Aviso, president of Philippine Canadian Arts Society of Manitoba, which is also the beneficiary group for the show’s proceeds.
Dances of Filipino Heart and Soul is scheduled to tour in Montreal and other parts of Canada and the US.
Photos by Ron Cantiveros | Filpino Journal