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Friday, February 8, 2008

RMMC's Teatro Ambahanon Sparkles at CCP

Just when City Mayor Pedro B. Acharon Jr. declared 2008 as the year of Excellence in General Santos City, Teatro Ambahanon - the resident Dance and Theater Company of the Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Colleges - was invited to perform at the Main Theater of the Cultural Center of the Philippines for “Galaw, Galaw… The Filipino Soul in Dance”, CCP’s program offering for the National Arts Month Celebrations.

“Galaw, Galaw…” which ran from February 1, 2, and 3 was dubbed “the Concert of the Best in Philippine Dance”. RMMC’s Teatro Ambahanon (TA) shared the limelight with world class dance companies like Ballet Philippines, Lisa Macuja and Ballet Manila, the Philippine Allstars, Philippine Ballet Theater, the Ramon Obusan Folkloric Dance Troupe, among others.

TA performed their critically-acclaimed dance piece called “Sa Ngalan Sang Inahan” from their “Oraciones” series choreograped by Julius Lagare. The nine-minute program slated for General Santos City’s dance company was well received by both audience and critics.

TA was discovered by Nestor O. Jardin, President of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, when the group competed in July 2007 at the National Modern Dance Competition in Koronadal City. Mr Jardin, who was one of the judges of the competition, invited the group to perform at CCP immediately after the program, to the surprise of the group considering the piece only ranked fourth in the competition. Apparently, the CCP President saw the appropriateness of the piece and its aesthetic appeal.

Vision of Excellence and Community Involvement

Teatro Ambahanon Contemporary Dance Company started as a dance arm of RMMC Theater company as its training laboratory for dancers and choreographers in the region. In the four years since its founding, the group won in many local, regional and national competitions.

TA is also a training ground for emergent leadership and has produced three GSC Youth Awardees and a finalist. Julius Lagare, the group’s Principal Dancer, was a 2005 recipient and is now based in Cebu as the resident choreographer and teacher at Nicolas Pacaña’s Ballet Center; Hosen Ngilay was a 2006 Finalist; Jan Robert Acharon was a 2007 Awardee. Both are sough-after choreographers. Another member, DeeJay De Vera danced for Exquizyth as guest performer when it competed and won in ABS-CBN’s TV show “You Can Dance Competition” in 2007.

Alongside leadership and excellence, the group is also active in community extension program. Jan Robert Acharon, the group’s Dance Master, formed Renegade 360 and Extreme Boys, two hiphop dance groups composed of both in- and out-of-school boys in Barangay Bula. These two groups, both award-winning in local dance competitions, are recipient of the program Tulbong - a training initiative by RMMC and Teatro Ambahanon in the fields of leadership and excellence.

Promoting Dance Appeciation and Introducing New Form

Having rooted its artistic direction on contemporary or modern dance form, Teatro Ambahanon has been active in its mission of bringing to fore this relatively new dance mold. Utilizing materials which are of rural and provincial appeal, the group creates dance pieces that depict “Philippine-ness” of dance. This did not escape the eye of Ms Edna Vida, a premier Filipina ballerina who directed the CCP show “Galaw, Galaw…”. “The choreograhy and movements have a distinct Filipino flavor. It’s a raw, pure Filipino form and I would love to see you choreograph more pieces like that…”, Ms Vida enthused.

Future Performances

Aside from such raving reviews after the 3-day performance, the group also received two invitations. Myram Beltran, Artistic Director of Dance Forum and the forerunner of WIFI Body Festival which has supported independent Filipino choreographers and dancers, invited the group to participate in WIFI’s 2008 season at CCP this June.

Another invitation came from Floy Quintos, a respected Theater, Movie and Television Director who said he was enthralled and “moved to tears” by the performance. He personally requested the group to perform, along with Filipino luminaries in world Opera, in his upcoming show “Virtuosos” on February 28, 2008 again at the CCP Main Theater.

With all these pouring-in of invitations, Gensan Dancers sparkle with the stars of Philippine Performing Arts, proving that Generals are indeed a breed of excellent artists. (press release)

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RMMC Teatro Ambahanon recruits new members through its Summer Dance Workshop. This workshop is free for incoming RMMC Freshmen enrollees. Six new members will be chosen. College scholarships will be granted to successful auditioners. For information and inquiries, see the RMMC Admissions Office.



Teatro Ambahanon displays a trademark structure before an appreciative crowd as Philippine Allstars looks on, at the Main Entrance of CCP after the February 3, performance

Jamming with a full house crowd after the performance inside the Main Theater

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

City Coop Dev Council Inducted


The City Cooperative Development Council officers were inducted Monday, February 4, 2008 by Mayor Pedro B. Acharon, Jr. during the flag ceremony at the City Hall grounds.

Art Aller of the Workers Cooperative of the Philippines (WCP) chairs the council and Co-chaired by Mr. Danilo Paredes. Melvin Tolibas of the General Santos City Government employees' multi-purpose cooperative was elected as the vice chairman, Mila Eugenio-GSTENPC treasurer and Emma Gatmaitan of Land Bank of the Philippines as auditor.

The officers sworn to perform their duties and responsibilities in accordance with law provided for the cooperatives in front of the city government employees.

Aller and the other officers' challenge is the hosting of the 9th National Cooperative Summit in October where around 5,000 delegates are expected to arrive have in the city and join the 3 days activity.

The city hotels and lodging houses can only accommodate half of its expected participants. The council encourages the residents here to cooperate in the "Home Stay Accommodations" which will answer the deficiency of the City's Accreditation.

"If we will be able to maximize the support from residents in the city, we can accommodate roughly around 10,000 visitors", said Aller.

Mayor Acharon on the other hand encourages the participation of local government employees and civil society in the said program so as to invite more groups to conduct their seminar here in the city.

It is a known fact that the city government supports the small and micro entrepreneurs. Acharon believes that leadership of the CCDC such endeavor will succeed with the aid and cooperation of the civil society.

Newly inducted offices are optimistic in meeting the necessity for the summit before the month of October. They are also hoping for the cooperation of everyone in achieving the goals of the council. (CPIO-ALJVillanueva)
COOPERATIVE COUNCIL. GenSan City Mayor Pedro Acharon, Jr. inducts into office the new leaders of the City Cooperative Development Council during the Flag Raising Ceremony of city government employees on February 3, 2008. The city is hosting the National Cooperative Summit this year where it expects more than 5,000 delegates. (GenSan CMO/avel manansala)

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Mayor's SOCA airs live over cable & radio

Everything is set for City Mayor Pedro Acharon, Jr.'s delivery of his State of the City Address (SOCA) on February 7, 2008 at exactly 9:00 in the morning.

Timed during the regular session of the City Council at the Sangguniang Panlungsod Hall, the city mayor's office have invited multi-sectoral representatives including business leaders, heads of NGO's and NGA's to the event.

A wide screen will be set-up at the lobby of the city hall to accommodate walk-in visitors and government employees. Chairs will be provided at the area including the balcony of the second floor.

For those who couldn't be there, the mayor's SOCA could be seen LIVE over SkyCable's Kapamilya Channel 28 (with replays in the evening) and heard simultaneously over radio stations, Bombo Radyo, Radio Mindanao Network, DXCP, RPN DXDX, DXGS, Bay Radio and K101.

The full transcript of the address will also be published over the city's print dailies and weeklies. It can also be downloaded from the city government's website at http://www.gensantos.gov.ph immediately following the mayor's delivery.

This is to ensure that everyone can have access to the more important points in the city mayor's review of his administration for 2007 and a preview for 2008 and beyond.

For more inquiries, please contact the City Public Info Office at 302-2309. (GenSan CMO/avel manansala)
MEDIA TAPPED FOR SOCA. City Mayor Jun Acharon while being interviewed by news reporters at his office has tapped all forms of media to broadcast LIVE his State of the City Address on February 7, 2008 which he will deliver at the SP Hall at the City Hall Building. It will be seen in its entirety at SkyCable Kapamilya Channel 28 and heard at various FM and AM stations in real time. Replays will be aired intermittently afterwards while full transcripts will run at the city's print dailies and weeklies. (GenSan CMO/avel manansala)

Monday, February 4, 2008

DILG to strengthen Barangay Development Councils

City Director Rodolfo Bernardino of the Department of Interior and Local Government disclosed that they are going to prioritize the strengthening of Barangay Development Councils in the 26 barangays of Gensan within the first quarter of 2008.
During the City Development Council Good Governance Committee Meeting this week, Bernardino pointed out that the BDCs are already organized and what is needed is to strengthen them because BDCs are tasked to provide priority listing of projects of every barangay.
He also added that accredited Non-Government Organizations and People's Organizations must be ensured of their seats so that they can participate in the process of selecting projects and programs to be given priority.
He clarified that NGOs and POs must also apply for accreditation with the barangay where they operate.
Meanwhile, former Rep. Mario Aguja, chairperson of the CDC Good Governance Committee, disclosed his plan to hold a one-day Orientation for all barangay captains and department heads to discuss concerns on livability, bankability, competitiveness and good governance.
The orientation is to be scheduled within this quarter of the year. (CPIO/ping aponesto)

Mayor Turns over crime-fighting car

NEW CRIME-FIGHTING CAR. Gensan City Mayor Pedro B. Acharon, Jr. turns over a new patrol car to Joint Task Force Gensan HQ Commandant Major Evacuado during the flag ceremony at the city hall grounds on February 4, 2008. The mayor has committed to release more vehicles this year to the Philippine National Police. (GenSan CMO/avel manansala)