Battle of the Bamboo 2013

Just got a heads up from FAN that Battle of the Bamboo 2013 is this weekend!  Sadly, I won't be able to attend and check out groups like this one from DePaul:



my jaw drops (and my feet cramp) at the 4:00 mark....  GAH! I'M SO BUMMED TO MISS IT!!!!  :(

so if you're in the area, and wanna get yo' pilipino on... you should really check it out:

Battle of the Bamboo
Saturday, 2/16
5:30pm to 10 pm

UIC Forum
725 W Roosevelt Rd
Chicago IL

pinoys in the lindy hop house!

(image from Through My Father's Eyes: The Filipino American Photographs of Ricardo Oreto Alvardo 1914-1976)


i've been feeling very nostalgic lately - dancing'll do that to a girl... :) and i started to reminisce about all ("all" - what like 5?) lindy exchanges i've been to in the (dating myself) 14 years i've been dancing... and i kinda got a little misty that i'd never travelled to one overseas... i would've especially loved to attend an exchange in japan, south korea and (hello!?) the philippines.

and then, i saw this tweet by the dept. of tourism - philippines:

"Every Filipino is encouraged to do their own share in promoting local tourism. Mahalin ang sariling atin! Good night, guys! #pilipinastarana"

so, i googled "lindyhop philippines"... and got a big ol' goose egg... i mean - there's like a gazillion pinoy lindyhoppers (incl. teachers, djs, dancers, bloggers) in the states -

even the black eyed peas/apl de ap got in on the action:

"Bebot: Generation One" (Directed by Patricio Ginelsa) from Kid Heroes on Vimeo.

srsly, are there any lindyhoppers in the PI?

so that's when i started to make a list of all the stateside pinoys/pinays i know (not necessarily personally) that also lindyhop:

anna marie panlilio - photographer and dancer. see also cianna's video below.

bernard of hollywood


brainard llanes - i should really post a pic of him in his halloween tooth fairy costume. this video is located in his channel btw :


cianna stewart (anna marie is in the video below too)


claudine co (chinese but grew up in the PI - counts! totes!) - she swivels in on the :50 mark (noah galang also swivels in this at the 1:46 mark - then its like a sausage fest...)


dexter santos


erwin amurao


jerry almonte - dancer and lindy hop blogger

josie say i couldn't find any video of josie dancing which is a shame cuz she's amazasian! :)

john joven


loreto agdinaoay - dancer and dj

meeshi ravi


noah galang - dancer and teacher see claudine's video above...

noel hipona


roy samson - roy is the first lead in the jam.


rick panganiban




tessa auza (plz don't kill me) - at the :53 mark, claudine is in this one too at the 1:30 mark


at the 2:45 mark, tessa is dancing with john joven:


last, but certainly not least - victor deleon - a dear friend, fellow bay area old school dancer, lindy hop event promotor/ambassador (who takes me out for my first wedding jam at my reception):



and don't forget me! :) (teaching w/ frankie manning - probably the most humbling experience of my life...)



and then it occurred to me... can you imagine if all these (really HAWT) folks got together - HOPPED A PLANE TO THE PI - and threw down an workshop/exchange called... wait for it... wait for it...

BALIKBAYAN HOP!!!

with just the group of dancers above - alone - you'd have teachers to teach beg/int/adv lindyhop, blues, hip hop, leader/follower styling, dips/tricks/aerials, etc... AND some of the best DJs to spin for dances and late night parties, etc...

add to that all the filipinos i DON'T know (insert infinite number here) - PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ADD NAMES AND LINKS IN THE COMMENTS - and BOOM! you have a mindblowing way to support tourism in the philippines AND get your groove on.... a white sand beach... while enjoying a tall frosty glass of halo halo.... *sigh*

SO HOW - HOW??!! - HAS THIS NOT HAPPENED YET PEOPLE!!!??? make. it. happen.