News and Media
Contact:
Herna Cruz-Louie
Tel: (510) 380-8250
Email: herna.cruzlouie@philippinearts.org
PASSING IT ON
Newly formed American Center of Philippine Arts focuses on the
Next Generation of Artists
(OAKLAND, CA – August 4, 2009) Sitting among a
group of bright young faces at a small
Sunday
afternoon
dance class in October 2008, Jay Loyola had a vision.
In his vision, Loyola saw young
dancers in a formal
school setting, immersed in various Philippine art forms,
ranging from
expressions through dance, song, music,
literature and cooking. Less than a year later, the
American Center of Philippine Arts (ACPA)
is alive and
sway-balancing
as resident artists of the
Oakland Asian Cultural Center.
Artistic Director Loyola, who trained and performed for many years with Bayanihan, the
worldrenowned
Philippine National Folk Dance Company, met Executive Director Herna
Cruz-Louie
in 2006 when both were
involved with another Bay Area Philippine dance company.
Together,
they created a youth program that taught
dance basics to children, many of them
second and
third generation Filipino Americans. Their students
performed throughout the Bay Area
at
festivals and cultural events, and both were clearly affected by the glow,
excitement and energy
that each student showcased while on stage.
Inspired by the eagerness of their students and seeing a lack of professional-grade Philippine
dance programs focused specifically on youth development and education, Loyola and Cruz-
Louie consulted with several fellow dancers and musicians long involved in the Bay Area
Philippine arts community, many of them now parents with young children. ACPA’s founders
came together with the specific goal of forming a school that would provide an educational and
developmental platform for multidisciplinary Philippine arts. In addition to attending classes,
students are given the opportunity to collaborate with other art schools, network with other
artists, and showcase their talents at community events. Many of the founders had been
introduced to Philippine arts and culture through college and university Filipino student
organizations. Now, with many in their thirties and with children of their own, ACPA’s founders
and supporters saw this opportunity as a proactive way of exposing and passing on their ethnic
and cultural arts traditions to their own children at a much earlier age. A long-range goal of
ACPA is to create a program similar to the popular Chinese Schools throughout the Bay Area
and beyond.
ACPA is still is infant stages, but enjoys a healthy enrollment of students ranging from ages 5 to
18. Recruitment is primarily through word of mouth, parent to parent, as the staff prepares to
launch a marketing campaign in the coming months. The classes are professional, and each
student is required to come to class in full practice uniform, including marigold ACPA t-shirts,
black pants or leggings, and hair buns for the girls. In addition to dance training, the staff and
board envision a comprehensive music program to teach traditional Philippine string and
percussion instruments, literary programs to expose children to English and Tagalog writings,
and culinary classes about traditional Filipino dishes.
The American Center of Philippine Arts was founded in 2009 to provide a unique educational
and developmental platform for multidisciplinary Philippine arts through innovative hands-on
classes, collaborations, networking opportunities, and showcase events. ACPA strives to
nurture both traditional and progressive Philippine arts to strengthen its community and ethnic
identity. The students will be performing at various Bay Area public and private events,
including the annual Pistahan Festival in San Francisco (www.pistahan.net) on August 8, 2009.
Fall workshops at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center will begin on August 30, 2009.
ACPA FALL WORKSHOPS
August 30 to November 15, 2009
Oakland Asian Cultural Center
388 9th Street, Oakland CA 94607
Sundays, 1pm - 2:30pm
$130.00 per student, per quarter.
To Pre-Register or for more information, please contact:
Herna Cruz-Louie, Executive Director
(510) 380-8250
herna.cruzlouie@philippinearts.org
If you like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with Herna Cruz-Louie
and Jay Loyola, please contact Herna at (510) 380-8250 or email herna.cruzlouie@philippinearts.org.
More information about ACPA can be found at their
website, www.philippinearts.org.