It's showtime

April 14 At sea



Manila scenes

Today has been amazingly calm.  Hopefully this holds all the way across the Atlantic and we don’t have a repeat of the Cuba passage.  This afternoon was the Filipino crew show.  It was amazing.  They get together and volunteer their spare time (what little they have) to put together a show for the passengers.  There were local dances and wonderful singing done for us.  They did a fun opening number about Manila and the local activities there, including a jeepney. 

 

 

manila jeepney

mountain province dance

Then they did a Mountain Province dance like a warrior. 

La Jota Moncadena

Then the La Jota Moncadena or castanet dance was performed to reflect the Spanish influence.  Next up was a beautiful duet son called Umagang Kay Ganda.  This was followed by the Candle Light Dance- Pandanggo Sa Ilaw where couples dance and pass the candles among themselves. 

The next performance was a music medley they wrote for us.  This was followed by a traditional dance, Subli, performed by ladies.  Next up was a singing solo by a Joanne called You’re My Home.  The modern dance piece, entitled Bebot, was writing by the choreographer for the Black Eyed Peas- he’s Filippino. 

Subli dance

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Forever "duet"

The final song number had to be the biggest hit with the crowd.  It was entitled Forever, which is normally a duet between a male and female vocalist.  Instead, Nestor performed both roles in a costume designed to be half dress and half tux.  When the tux faced the audience, he sang the male vocals.  Then he would turn and have the dress face the audience, while hitting the female tune.  His ability to hit both notes is amazing in itself but to be a able to change on the fly like that was absolutely amazing.

 

 

 

 

 

The next dance to follow was the National Dance, the Tinikling.  This is the bamboo dance.  It reminded me of jumping rope as a child, specifically the double dutch, and having to move your feet quickly so you didn’t trip.  

Tinikling National Dance

After the recognition of the participants, they finished with one last dance.  They did the Babalik Ka Rin dance. 

our Filipino crew show performers

The show was absolutely wonderful and everyone you spoke with couldn’t say enough praise.