• ROGER D. BETRAN
It was a victorious day for Victorias City, after winning the Best of Festival Dances Competition at the Panaad Park and Stadium on April 18, as part of Negros Occidental’s Panaad sa Negros Festival celebration that made a grand comeback after a three-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The vibrant Kadalag-an Festival of Victorias City bagged the championship trophy and took home P100,000 in cash prize, besting 23 other competing groups from different cities and municipalities of the province.
The Tinabu-ay Festival of Murcia, a champion in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019, was hailed first runner-up, winning P75,000 in cash prize.
The Kansilay Festival of Silay City was second runner-up with P50,000 in cash prize; San Carlos City’s Pinta Flores Festival, third runner-up with P30,000; and Ilog’s Kisi-Kisi Festival, fourth runner-up, winning P20,000 in cash.
The special award for Best Festival Video Introduction went to the City of San Carlos, giving them an additional P20,000 cash prize.
Organizers said the festival dance entries depict the unique character of each of the town’s festival in a colorful and jubilant presentation.
Each participating town or city had 30 to 50 performers taking the Panaad stage for a maximum of five minutes.
Participants were judged according to choreography (relevance to the theme, clarity of ideas presented and composition) – 30 percent; performance (mastery, unity and precision, skills and technique, discipline, dynamics) – 30 percent; theme/concept (depicts the unique character of the festival) – 25 percent; and production design (costume, hand props, visual impact) – 15 percent.
Other competing groups were La Castellana’s Bailes de Luces, Candoni’s Pabalhas ta Tablas, Talisay City’s Minuluan Festival, Don Salvador Benedicto’s Kali-Kalihan, Moises Padilla’s Magayon Hinuptanan, Hinoba-an’s Pagbana-ag, Kabankalan City’s Sinulog, Himamaylan’s Himayaan, Sipalay’s Burangoy Kite Festival, Sagay City’s Sinigayan, Cadiz City’s Dinagsa, La Carlota City’s Pasalamat, Manapla’s Manang Pula, Bago City’s Babaylan, Escalante’s Manlambus, Isabela’s Panubli-on, Valladolid’s Pasundayag, Pulupandan’s Salapan, and Cauayan’s Lubay-Lubay Festival.
Bacolod City’s MassKara Festival dancers performed as a non-competing group.
The festival dance showdown is one of the main events of the 27th Panaad sa Negros Festival, the “festival of all festivals” with the theme “The Promise Renewed,” slated to run until April 23.*
