Dancing as fast as she can -- with love

For those of us who participate, Kariktan Dance Company is not just a Filipino cultural dance troupe that performs at anywhere from simple weddings to renowned Filipinas magazine awards ceremonies. It's a family of people who lead separate lives and still manage to come together and do what they love.

Performers present a glimpse of Philippines

By Janice De Jesus

STAFF WRITER


Young dancers know that when they step into a rehearsal for KARIKTAN Dance Company, they learn more than just a certain dance. They get an education about the Philippines.

They soon discover the country isn't just famous for "pansit," "lumpia," and "adobo," -- its signature food dishes -- or Imelda Marcos' shoes, but that there are 7,100 islands with various regions each with its own subculture and dialect.

Ian Quiambao, 12, didn't know much about his Filipino heritage when he joined KARIKTAN. Now, he not only knows each region of the Philippines' their own set of cultural dances, Ian also specializes in the "Tinikling," one of the most popular and the most complicated folk dances where performers rapidly dance in and out of moving bamboo poles.