THE COVID-19 pandemic is transforming the arts but it’s not all that bad.
Despite the many challenges they face, art organizations have many reasons to be optimistic and they’re using their creativity to meet these challenges head-on.
Yes, the pandemic has had a profound effect on the arts. All the theaters across the country are suddenly dark. Concerts and festivals from ballets, symphonies to contemporary music are cancelled. Museums are closed. This has not only had a devastating effect on the economics of those institutions and the livelihood of the artists; it is isolating the public from one of the things that’s most needed right now: the essential connection that comes from sharing arts experiences.
Celebrating National Arts Month in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic would rather seem like an oxymoron as “I Am Iloilo City” is supposed to be, and still is, under a General Community Quarantine or GCQ. But as I said, despite the many challenges they face art organizations have many reasons to be optimistic and they’re using their creativity to meet these challenges head-on.
And foremost among them is Founder and Artistic Director Nila Claravall-Gonzalez of the Claravall-Gonzalez School of Classical Ballet. As an artist, she uses her creativity to meet the challenges of the pandemic head-on and celebrate National Arts Month come Feb. 28 (which is this Sunday) with a show incorporating all the protocols required by the Inter-Agency Task Force or IATF to mitigate the spread of the virus.
And the show is Sayaw, Musika, at Tula. It will be held at the Outdoor Atrium of Festive Mall on Feb. 28, 2021 at 5 p.m.
As befitting the celebration, the show is an integration of different art forms, from dance to music and poetry.
Aside from the classical repertoire that the school is presenting, it has prepared a new dance essaying the celebration of the first Catholic baptism in the Philippines. This new contemporary dance piece is entitled Humabon At Juana.
Alongside these numbers, the show will also feature Ilonggo artists, namely pianist Renz Flores, violinist Miguel Davao, poet Anthony Estolloso, pop music singer John Brian Carnaje, and classical singers tenor Jomel Garcia together with soprano Bea Fernandez. They will be singing excerpts from Broadway musicals “Phantom of the Opera” and “West Side Story”.
One of the highlights of the show is an Original Pilipino Music or OPM by Fernandez and interpreted in a pas de deux by ballerinas from the Claravall-Gonzalez School of Classical Ballet.
Likewise, ballerinas from the school will dance the Claire de Lune performed by pianist Flores.
Of course, all standard health protocols by the IATF will be strictly followed. All the artists performing will be wearing facemasks and only 40 seats are allowed for the audience with proper social distancing throughout the entire performance.
The show Sayaw, Musika, At Tula is a collaboration of Festival Mall, Angelina’s Bakeshop, the Department of Tourism Region 6 and the Claravall-Gonzalez School of Classical Ballet.
For those who are unable to come to watch the show and considering the limited seats allowed for the audience, Festive Mall Marketing will show it live on the Facebook page of Festive Walk Mall Performance and Events.
Excerpts from www.artworkarchive.com:
Why we need arts in times of crisis
Art-making and viewing art allows us to process our experiences. Art helps us to express and to understand the world around us.
We are unique in our human drive to create and engage with the arts. Historically, humans have been visually expressive beings. Ancient humans not only recorded their lives through art, but they also used art to express themselves. We do this today, too — the arts create community by depicting shared events and to express our individual perspectives.
We define our human experience by the cultures we create and participate in. Culture, made up of customs, social interactions, and activities, is fueled by the arts. Be it music or visual arts, culture and the arts are inseparable.
We are seeing an increased turn to the arts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Globally, we have turned to art engagement as a source of comfort and strength. Participating in and viewing art makes us connect to a more universal human experience. Be it art-making at home, public murals, watching and listening to plays and music, or new-found interests in culinary arts, art is an expression of what it means to be human.
Let us get our lives back and one way we can do this is through art as art allows us to examine what it means to be human, to voice and express, and to bring people and ideas together./PN
