POSAKA

Save the Date • October 20–23, 2022 • The Downstairs at LaMaMa Experimental Theater Club

Through ritual dance and chanted epics, Indigenous Master-Artists visiting from the Philippines share the living traditions of four unbroken lineages: Maguindanao, Meranao, Tausug, and T’boli. Set to the pulse of sacred drums and a live kulintang ensemble, Posaka navigates the boundaries of ceremony and theater to empower collective healing through ancestral arts. From the Sanskrit for “one who nourishes,” posaka (ie. heirlooms) retain ancient Austronesian animism denied in English to so-called “things.” Performing cultural translation at many levels, these tradition-bearers as embodied posaka repair the erasures of hegemony and enduring objectification of colonialism.

October 20–23, 2022

The Downstairs
66 East 4th Street, basement level
New York, NY 10003

Tickets:
Adults: $30
Students/Seniors: $25
First 10 tickets are $10 (limit 2 per person)

Ticket prices are inclusive of all fees.

  • POTRI RANKA MANIS

    Bai Labi a Gaus sa Borocot, Maguing
    Founder, Artistic Director + Choreographer

  • MALAIKA QUEAÑO

    Co-Executive Director + Main Musician

  • CHRISTOPHER ALI PURPURA

    Creative Producer

“The performance…is an act of remembering a home…to which they advocate a return.”

-The Theatre Journal

Meet the

Master Artists-In-Residence

Lyn Buti

T’boli Tradition-Bearer

Lyn was born in Lake Sebu. It is the home of the Tboli people who are surrounded by three lakes: Lake Lahit, Lake Seluton, and Lake Sebu. She grew up in the traditional Bong Guno surrounded by Tnalak and other hand-woven baskets, mats, beaded necklaces, and lewek (along). The dances and music that Lyn performs and teaches are all learned as part of her life.

Leonorah
Dirampaten-Grande

Meranao Tradition-Bearer

As a granddaughter of Sultan a Gaus of Borocot, one of the royal houses of Lanao del Sur, she was married to the son of Sultan of Macadar and is currently a proud mother of six children. She graduated from Mindanao State University with a B.S. in International Relations and while in college, was awarded best performer of the year as a member of Sining Pananadem, cultural troupe (2001). She strives to fulfill her grandfather’s wish of honoring her ancestry by learning, preserving, and promoting her people’s traditions as a member of the royal family. She hopes that through these efforts she will change other people’s perspectives on her culture while expanding her knowledge of other nations’ and their cultures as well.

Datu Faisal Monal

Maguindanao Tradition-Bearer

Datu Faisal is currently the choreographer of the CCSPC-Salamindanao Dance Company. He is an exceptional Moro Master in arts, dance, and traditional music, as well as a skilled chanter and shaman. He plays various traditional instruments: kulintang, agong, debakan, babendil, and gandingan. He has shown excellence in dance production, collaborating with other Maguindanaon dance masters in several Philippine festivals like the Kalilangan Festival (Gensan), T’nalak Festival (South Cotabato), Meguyaya Festival (Nuro, Upi Maguindanao), to name a few. As a traditional musician, his Kulintang Group Magui Moro Master Artist has been invited by Kularts, SF CA USA as a Philippine Master Artist in Residence and performed several times in selected states of the USA such as Asia Alive!, Asia Arts Museum (San Francisco), A Musical Travelogue of the Philippine Towson University (Maryland), UCLA Class Lectures, Dance Demonstration, and many others across the country. He is also a resident artist of the Tao Foundation for Culture and the Arts (Quezon City, Philippines) and joined Grace Nono’s major concert abroad in Nagoya, Japan, and Asia Pacific week (Berlin, Germany, Barcelona, Spain).

SITTI AIRIA
ASKALANI OBESO

Taosug Tradition-Bearer

Lingling, as she is fondly called, was taught by her mother, all the traditional dances and kissa (chant story) of the Taosug people. Her family are originally from Tawi Tawi, Jolo, Southern Philippines, she is currently in Davao City along with her immediate and extended family. She is a true dance master teacher who transmits her culture and tradition despite being displaced from her home island.

…awaken all the senses…‍with healing chant, thunderous gong, and tantric movement…

CAST & CREW

  • Potri Ranka Manis, a tradition-bearer of the Maranao people (People of the Lake), is the founder and artistic/executive director of Kinding Sindaw. Born and raised in Mindanao, she is the daughter of the late Sultan a Gaus of the Royal House of Borocot, a true modern-day princess. As an artist-activist, she campaigns tirelessly for the self-determination of the Moro and Lumad communities of the Philippines and other indigenous peoples around the world.

    A NYFA Fellow and artist teacher at Lotus Music & Dance, Potri is a playwright (Lemlunay), award-winning poet (Sandstorm in Jeddah), actor (Disoriented), producer (Newyorkustan), and practitioner of the Theatre of the Oppressed. She has conceived, choreographed, and directed many off-Broadway productions, most recently Kinding Sindaw’s 2018 Mindanao: The Legend of Tabunaway, Mamalu, and Their Descendants. She also wrote and performed a one-woman show, The Worry Beads, a tribute to the 9/11 disaster. In addition to her artistic life, she is a board-certified medical-surgical registered nurse and nurse educator; committed to the health and well-being of her community, she created the healing modality, Resilient Ancestral Nurturing Knowledge and Arts (R.A.N.K.A).

  • Malaika Yasmin Queano is a first-generation Filipino American born to Maranao (People of the Lake) and Tagalog parents in New York City. She is a community organizer and cultural artist of southern Philippine, classical Indian, and Indonesian dance. She has been studying Bharata Natyam with Kamala Cesar, disciple of T. Balasaraswati, since elementary school. She has also studied Indonesian traditional dance with Amalia Suryani, founder of the Saung Budaya Indonesian dance company. She started performing at the young age of 2 as a dancer in Kinding Sindaw, a NYC-based nonprofit dance theater troupe dedicated to asserting, preserving and re-creating the oral history of the indigenous peoples of Mindanao, Southern Philippines. She developed into the main musician and Co-Executive Director of Kinding Sindaw through training by master kulintang artist, the late Danongan Kalanduyan. She advocates for the Maranao people to return to their beloved Marawi, to which they tie their identity as the People of the Lake (Ranao) through the #Love4Marawi social media campaign to spread awareness of the 2017 Marawi Siege and the ongoing effects on the people it displaced. In addition to her cultural work and activism, Malaika serves as the Certification Analyst at Women Business Enterprise Council Metro NY.

  • Ali is a writer and artist based in New York. He studied Art History at NYU and Architectural Theory at The Bartlett, University College London. His research and queer critique on dance theorist Rudolf Laban won the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) President’s Award for Outstanding Masters Degree Thesis. In 2015, Christopher met his spiritual guide, Shaykha Fariha Fatima of the Nur Ashki Jerrahi Sufi Order, where he is a semazen (whirler) under the guidance of tradition-bearer Sakina Nur.

  • Diane Camino has been a performing artist for several La MaMa E.T.C./ Kinding Sindaw productions: as evil Golden Goat in Rajah Mangandiri in November 2000, as a goddess in Lemlunay in May 2003, Sultan Kudarat in December 2005, Parang Sabil in 2004, Bemberan in December 2007, Pandibulan 2010, and Mindanao The Legend 2018. Diane became a student and member of KS in 1997. She is dedicated to teaching all the dances she has learned to continue the mission and vision of KS and to be the voice of her ancestors. She grew up in the Bronx, NY where her parents migrated to in the early 1980’s from Davao City, Southern Philippines. Her deepest gratitude and appreciation to Potri and Mama Ellen Stewart for being such great mentors. “Passion is needed for any great work, and for the revolution, passion and audacity are needed in big doses.” Che Guevara “

  • is a senior member of Kinding SIndaw and assists with the company’s martial arts training and scene choreography as well as music and tribal dance. He performed in major works including, Agama Niyog, Rajah Mangandiri, Lemlunay, Parang Sabil, Bemberan, and many other performances. He is the founder of Tirada Tirsia Kali Silat System, as well as Kinding Sindaw Dance Company. He promotes Philippine Martial Arts through seminars, workshops, and lectures. He trained under the guidance of Grand Master Tuhon Leo T. Gaje and has over 40 years experience in the martial arts. He continues his studies of oral traditions, music and dance of the Philippines to further reinforce his knowledge of the culture.

  • is a well-recognized poet, playwright, fiction and songwriter, he has won awards in many literary contests, including the Palanca, CCP, and Talaang Ginto, and was appointed as UPCB’s Artist-in-Residence in 1981-1983 by the University of the Philippines system, in recognition of his achievements, literary production, and contributions to Philippine Literature. As songwriter, he is best recognized for his work, “Alay Kay Macliing Dulag” which he wrote in honor of the Kalinga Chieftain and hero who gave his life to the Cordillera Peoples struggle against the Chico River Dam Project during the Marcos regime. In 1990 while on leave to complete his masteral and Ph.D. degrees, his musical interest and talents brought him to join Kinding Sindaw as a kulintang artist and consultant. He continued to teach with DECL, UP Diliman, upon his return from the US and until his formal retirement in 2012, although his teaching extended until 2014. In 2018, his short story, “Migrante”, appeared in the UP Institute of Creative Writing, LIKHAAN Anthology, 40/40.

  • Lisa has been a member of Kinding SIndaw since 1998 and has appeared in numerous large scale productions including Iruman o Bang, Agama Niyog, Rajah Mangandiri, Lemlunay, Parang Sibil, Sultan Kudarat, Bemberan, Pandibulan, Pagbabalik, and Mindanao: The Legend. She has learned kulintang

    principally from Nur Nonilon Queano, Master Musician Danny Kalanduyan, Teng Emba, and Linda Banisil and seen the traditional artforms in her travels through Mindanao. In addition to kulintang, Lisa plays piano, doumbek, and other percussion instruments. Lisa also studies American Kali Systems Tirada Tirsa martial arts from Guro Frank Ortega, and bellydance from Anahid Sofian. Lisa has a PhD in biochemistry and works in Medical Education. In her spare time, Lisa does creative writing.

  • Coming Soon

  • is a registered Nurse, MA in Health Arts and Sciences, Certified in Holistic Nursing, Integrative Nutrition & Coaching, and Quantum Reflex Analysis helping individuals achieve amazing health and happiness. She has been with Kinding Sindaw since 2010 as an appreciation and empowering connection for her Filipino heritage that gave her a rich foundation in Indigenous science of healing. She is also a grandmother of two toddlers, Michael Joseph and Adelina Grace, who sees Kinding Sindaw as a Filipino school where they can be immersed in the culture. She is a hilot and an author “The Healing Dance: A Fusion Massage and Asian Healing Arts.”

  • has a strong musical background, he started learning the piano at age five, and the violin at age eight; he performed at All-County, the Long Island String Festival, and was a member of a couple of youth orchestras/bands. He plays various percussion - Arabic, Japanese taiko, and Korean poongmul drumming. He also plays central Javanese gamelan music (Javanese gong ensemble) with Gamelan Kusuma Laras. His background in music, his skill and interest in martial arts, and curiosity of his heritage is what led him to joining Kinding Sindaw in 2006. His first major production with the company was Vignettes of Mindanao. On top of that, he has done Malaysian dances under the instruction of Esther DeCew, Arabic/Middle Eastern/North African folk dances and music under the instruction of Ramzi El-Edlibi and Zafer Tawil, and has danced with SALGA’s Bollywood dance contingent in various events.

  • Vivian was first exposed to Kinding Sindaw through her college friend, Malaika (does this name ring a bell?). She then proceeded to help the organization with their social media and slowly became more involved by learning the different indigenous tribes of the Philippines. She is of Burmese and Chinese descent and sees how an organization like Kinding Sindaw not only empowers the Filipino community but the Asian American community at large.

  • is a 27-year-old New York-based film director recognized and supported by the Director’s Guild of America (DGA) and the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers (AMPTP) as a foreign film director in the United States. She is also a martial artist, theater dancer and actress, musician, freelance film instructor, live camera operator, wedding videographer/filmmaker, who was born and raised in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. She studied film at the New York Film Academy and graduated with the highest honors, with her studies sponsored by Princess Hala bint Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, one of the daughters of the late King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. For her work she has received multiple awards from different award-winning bodies like the International Film Festival Manhattan winning Best Cinematography for her work “ATAREEK” representing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Filipino community in K.S.A. as well as one of the recipients of the “Ani Ng Dangal” under The National Commission for Culture and Arts (Presidential Award) as well as screened her films in New York, Houston, Manila and Jeddah, being the only non-Saudi and making history as the first Filipino female filmmaker in the latter.

  • Margaret Guzman is a Filipina-American documentary filmmaker and multimedia journalist based in NYC. She is a recent graduate at NYU and is currently a video producer for Insider Inc., working on Science Insider’s YouTube first show, “Debunked.” Whether it is through the eyes of the camera, etching words with ink on paper, or a combination of both, she hopes to uplift other underrepresented and diasporic communities by exploring their contemporary art and culture - mainly through the lens of social justice and activism. She first encountered Kinding Sindaw while filming a documentary on Philippine culture and diasporic identity for her thesis. Shortly after, she joined the troupe as a dancer in the Queensboro Dance Festival tour, performing the Bai Labi (Queen Mother) and Paga Uhong (Magical Mushroom) dances from the Maranao (People of the Lake). She serves as an Administrative Associate at Kinding Sindaw and has initiated an archive of Kinding Sindaw’s 29-year history in New York.

  • Coming Soon

  • started learning traditional Filipino dances as a young child. She is very grateful to Kinding Sindaw for furthering her education in the Filipino cultural arts and for teaching her about the history and struggles of the indigenous people of Mindanao, her mother’s home island. Rosan has a writing and editing background (poetry, short fiction, criticism), with training in storytelling, acting (The Barrow Group), and improv and sketch comedy (The Peoples Improv Theater).

  • Coming Soon

  • Jerome is an emerging Filipino-American public health professional with 3 years of experience in community health, focusing on HIV prevention, LGBTQ+ API health, and health promotion. His research interests include social determinants of health, cultural therapy, and destigmatisation of sexual and mental health in marginalised communities. Artistically, he has 13 years of experience as a violinist and violist, 7 years as a dancer in the collegiate scene, and 2 years as an artist with Kinding Sindaw where he also serves as Development Manager. He regularly co-hosts Kinding Sindaw’s web series entitled “Rinayung,” bringing the diaspora together through livestream presentations on preservation of Philippine oral tradition and culture. Jerome currently holds the position of Project Connect Coordinator at Apicha Community Health Center. His full bio can be found at linkedin.com/in/jeromeviloria.

  • Coming Soon

Show your support today.

There are currently eight (8) tiers to our donor benefits, each listing additional perks specifically to be rewarded for our upcoming Posaka production. Head to our “Take-Action” page or click “Learn more”.

For 30 years of international outreach and theater productions, Kinding Sindaw has also consistently provided music, dance, and storytelling workshops to schools, museums, and countless other community-based venues across NYC. By joining the Kinding Sindaw family you will contribute to the continuation of all of these efforts, and we thank you.