Former councilor Em Ang, head of the Bacolod delegation, said the MassKara dancers were the first Filipino group to perform in Disneyland and also the first mask-based festival in the world to do so.
The MassKara dancers performed a 22-minute dance number at the Disneyland Performing Arts at the California Adventure Land in the evening.
Their performance was well-applauded by the Disneyland crowd, Ang said.
The MasssKara dance group was composed of Joedem Casabuena, John Rey Alulod, Richard Lopez, Mark Philip Lamirez, Argie Tacadao, Airick Bayking, Joenel Buenaventura, Nestle Ramirez, Alvin Cardiente and Junel Caagoy-Yap.
They were joined by five dancers from Long Beach. Segundo Jesus “Panoy” Cabalcar choreographed the performance.
When interviewed after their performance, Casabuena said, “We are very happy to perform in Disneyland. This is historic since we were the first Filipino group to perform here.”
Alulod said, “It was a life-changing experience for me.”
For his part, Lamirez said, “It was one of the most memorable experiences in my life.”
OTHER PERFORMANCES
A few days before their performance in Disneyland, the MassKara dancers had perfomed at the San Francisco Filipino Cultural Center in San Francisco, California.
They were invited by the Rotary Club of Daly City Colma Evening, thru its president-elect, Leila de la Peña-Marin, who is from Bacolod City.
The MassKara dance team was also the first group from outside the US to perform at the San Francisco Filipino Cultural Center after its re-opening.
Ang said the SFFCC show was attended by prominent and distinguished leaders of the local government, business community, civic and religious organizations and Fil-Am community in the Bay Area.
Their four-day performance in Los Angeles is upon the invitation of the Long Beach Bacolod Association, led by its president, Peter Ramirez.
They had performed at the Gala Night of the “MassKara Festival in Long Beach” at the Marriott Hotel in Long Beach City on August 2.
They also performed at the Trade, Travel and Consumer Expo, hosted by the Asian Journal Publications, at the SouthBay Pavilion in Carson City on August 3.
On August 4 [Sunday, US time], they will have three performances at the “MassKara Festival in Long Beach” at 10 a.m., 12 noon, and 2 p.m., at Bandshell at the Recreation Park in Long Beach. (PIO)
