STREET DANCE COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS THE 9TH KANNAWIDAN FESTIVAL

The 9th kannawidan festival celebration in the province of Ilocos Sur ended with a blast as the twenty two lively and vibrant groups from the different towns compete in the Street Dancing and Dance Show down.

Each performance featured their respective One Town One Product (OTOP) and portrayed their culture, values, tradition, main products and tourist spots of their municipality. The street dancing competition started as the first performance of each group held in front of the Provincial Capitol and progressively until in front of the Municipal Hall of Bantay.

The street was filled with a festive atmosphere as the crowd yells for their own bet while the contingents performed gracefully and energetic in the tune of kannawidan song with their multi-colored costumes.

After showing the dance steps in the streets, the contingents vied in the dance show down at the Quirino Stadium in Bantay, Ilocos Sur. Here, they demonstrate their creativity and artistry of movements and their different props showcasing their history, OTOP, culture, values and tradition. Each contestant was given 8 minutes to perform. The contenders were adjudged for their performance in the street which formed 40 percent of their overall performance and 60 percent from the dance show down.

The set of judges had the difficulty to choose who among the contenders will bring home the bacon. Assistant Regional Director Modesto Baloloy of the Department of Tourism Region 1 chaired the board of judges which composed of a representative from the National Commission of Culture and the Arts (NCCA) in the person of Geronimo Cristobal; the Director for Center for Culture, Arts and Heritage of Saint Louis College at San Fernando La Union, Mr. Jeddahn Rosario City; Senior Treasury Manager of Manila North Toll Ways Corporation and Manager of NLEX Road Warriors Basketball team, Mr. Ronald Dulatre; and Ms. Remy Florendo, the manager of ABS-CBN Ilocos.

With a careful measure of the performance, theme or concept, choreography, costume and props of every group, the contender of Vigan City who showcased their Longganisa Festival was declared as the first ever winner of the Kannawidan street dancing competition. The Calamansi Festival of Tagudin garnered the second place, the contender of Nagbukel who displayed their papaya as OTOP was declared as the 3rd placer, the group from Santa who took pride for their hero, Gabriela Silang was chosen as the 4th placer and the Calamay Festival of Candon bagged the 5th place.

The champion received P200, 000 pesos cash prize and the runners up received P150,000, P100,000, P75,000 and P50,000 pesos respectively.

This is the pilot episode of street dancing competition as part of the Kannawidan Festival. The administration of Governor Ryan Singson is the main promoter of the activity which is put on a slogan

R- ambak

Y-awis ti

A-min para ti

N-aimballaigian a

Kannawidan Ylocos

“We come up with this activity to promote the different festivals of each town in our province. Our goal is to lift the Kannawidan Ylocos and become one of the major and most recognized festivals in the country. We hope that in the coming years, all municipalities will participate”, Gov Ryan said. # Source – PIO Ilocos Sur