DLC Little Ballerinas, Hiraya Theater Company to perform in annual fundraiser

As part of its annual fundraising efforts, Datu Lubay Center (DLC) will produce a Christmas dance concert titled “Sinaot Sinadya sa Paskwa” at the St. Anthony’s College De Wit Hall on December 15.

The Dance concert will feature the students in Baby Ballet, Ballet 1 and 2, with the Hiraya Theater Company, and guest performers Rubie Rizza Estaris.

The Little Ballerinas shall perform their repertoire of Dance of the Flowers and Chinese Dance from Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” and Dance of the Seaweeds, Dance of the Fishes, and Dance of the Jellyfish from “The Little Mermaid.” Choreography is by Crimson Guirjem, resident instructor of DLC.

Hiraya Theater Company shall perform their repertoire of Hawaiian, belly, hiphop, contemporary, and folk dances. Tickets for the dance concert are available at DLC, parents, and Hiraya members.

DATU LUBAY TOY-MAKING CONTEST 2011

Rationale

As kids, toys not only amused us but taught us to be more human, inquisitive, creative, and explorative. In this age, there is no want for toys. Cheap plastic toys are a surplus. The better ones are very expensive, of course, that children hardly play with them. Today's generation do not ask for toys, but gadgets, mostly digital and electronic. Yesterday's toys varied from wood, cloth, tin cans, leaves, etc. Most of all, they were hand-made. Now, we call them folktoys, maybe crude and simple, but nevertheless fill the need for children to be more inventive and imaginative. Datu Lubay Toy-making Contest is an attempt to bring back the joy of toy-making, encourage imagination and creative play, as well as promote the use of organic materials, creative reuse and recycling. We wish it to be an annual event, on Christmas time, when toys bring the sparkle in every child and child-at-heart's eyes.

Mechanics:

1. The contest is open to all; entry may be individual or group.

2. Toys may fall within any of the following types: dolls, puppets, cars, mechanical toys, display toys; toy guns, weapons and other similar toys suggesting violence are not acceptable.

3. Toys must be hand-made, using locally available materials.

4. Each entry must be submitted with the following information:

a. Name/s of maker /makers

b. Address and Contact number

c. Materials used

d. Estimated cost to produce one unit

5. All entries must be submitted at Datu Lubay Center on or before December 15, 2011.

6. All entries shall be exhibited by Datu Lubay Center.

7. The Jury shall select the following winners and award prizes for:

a. Datu Lubay’s Choice 2,000.00 + certificate

b. Best Doll/Puppet 1,500.00 + certificate

c. Best Mechanical Toy 1,500.00 + certificate

d. Best Toy Using Recyclable Materials 1,500.00 + certificate

8. Criteria for selection of winners shall be (each criterion shall be rated 1-10):

a. Playable (Mahimo nga sipalan)

b. Replicable (Sarang himoon liwan)

c. Amusing and interesting (Makalingaw)

d. Affordable (Bukut mahal ang paghimo)

e. Sturdy (Mapag-un)

9. The Jury shall have the prerogative to declare NO WINNER, should entries fail to meet the criteria.

10. Winning entries shall become the property of Datu Lubay Center, to be part of its toys museum.

11. Winners shall be announced on December 23, 2011. Participants shall be notified by text or call.

We have a new office

We are pleased to announce our new office at the 2nd Floor, The Pinnacle Business Center along Ricarze St., San Jose, Antique. The entrance is by JF Mart. Our new office will have a dance studio and a gift shop, and in the future maybe an art gallery. Visit us there.

Datu Lubay Toys Museum

Welcome to Datu Lubay Toys Museum. After almost a year of renovation and preparation, we are ready to open the museum. Official opening is scheduled on April 25, 2010. Here is the gate, along Progreso St., made of old bed posts. The house is covered by a thick foliage of mango trees. We do not want to cut the branches, though.

The entrance is of antique kitchen doors. It's called the Door of Ten Blue Moons.

This is the first section of the gallery: An exhibit of international costume dolls. We have porcelain dolls from Japan, Korea, China, Thailand, and a collection of Precious Moments dolls. There is a cloth doll form Kenya, terra cotta doll from India, also a collection of Wizard of Oz dolls given by Peter Nery. We also have a Cory Aquino doll and a Sam Milby doll among the Philippine dolls collection. Still wanting a display case is the Barbie Dolls of the World collection.
This is the section on performing arts. We have Chinese masks, Burmese, Indian, Indonesian puppets, Sarawak ritual dolls, Vietnamese water puppets, miniature musical instruments, etc. Our pride is the Ramayana quartet by original Bangkok Dolls, and statuettes of Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, and Strauss from Austria, and a bust of Homer. These Western masters are displayed alongside Asian folk musicians - a terracotta band from Thailand, for example. The legong dancers and water puppets are displayed with Sesame Street!

We are still doing the Balay-balay (Play House) section and the toy cars section.

Datu Lubay's first project

Datu Lubay Center gets its first project as implementer of the Lihok Bisaya in Antique. Lihok Bisaya is an intercommittee program in the Visayas of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. The task is to develop sustainable creative industries in the area. Our site is Barangay 4, San Jose, where the center is located. It is also an opportune time for the center to make its impact in the community.
Phase 1, ground-working the plan is being implemented this quarter. We will have our first organizational workshop this weekend (Oct 25-27) at the Gov. Santos Capadocia Memorial School. In the works are meeting with technology resource persons to train on livelihood production.
The center is now holding office at the ground floor of Balay ni Datu Lubay. The second level will be renovated as the museum of toys

Datu Lubay Center logo

The Datu Lubay Center logo symbolizes creativity, peace, and beauty. Like a lotus flower or hands clasped in prayer, it symbolizes the creative space and force that it envisions.

Datu Lubay House turns green

DATU LUBAY HOUSE along Gobierno Street

The repainting of the Datu Lubay House is going on. The roof has been painted with red oxide and looks brand new. The wall facing Gobierno Street is done. Now it looks like a humongous blackboard. My mother said it looks like an elementary school. Well, Datu Lubay House is an alternative education center. The school image would do well.

Why the house is blackboard green is by circumstance. I went to buy paint from a friend's hardware store. I wanted the house to be a bright, sunny yellow to make it a cheerful house by the corner. But there's only one can of egg yellow enamel paint left. I needed two cans, so I asked for an available color. There was apple green, which I thought was close to the original color of the house. There were traces of light green on the wooden walls. So i picked up the apple green, but when the painters started, it was a dark green - pine green must have been more apt. To break the boring blackboard facade, I asked them to paint the windows white. I guess it will be OK for the meantime. Painting the concrete base wall and the adjacent structure, which is a sari-sari store, a light green will do the trick. The painters are now working on the Progreso Street side of the house. After this we have to stop the job and wait for additional funds.