1. Skechers Streetdance Battle 10: The Final Battle
By Anna Nicola Blanco
Since the first battle in 2004—exactly 10 years ago—the Skechers Streetdance Battle (SSB) has been
cultivating winners; the generation of champions. Formerly held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, the SSB
has then relocated its battle grounds to the SM Mall of Asia Arena where it has been held for the past three
years. Its popularity continues to expand with each battle. It is, as its tagline says, “The one battle that
counts.”
The battle kicked off on a high note—the crowd going wild—with dancer and choreographer Phil
Pamintuan leading the SSB signature dance
15 college teams and 12 high school teams competed for the coveted title of “Skechers Streetdance Battle
Champions,” SSB caps, a whopping Php 100, 000, and, of course, bragging rights.
The college finalists were Olivarez College’s Street Enomenos, Asia Pacific College’s APC Dance
Company, Our Lady of Fatima University’s Performing Arts Guild of Fatima (PAGFA), Ateneo de Manila
University’s Company of Ateneo Dancers (CADs), De La Salle University’s La Salle Dance Company
Street (LSDC Street), Colegio de San Juan de Letran Calamba’s Letran Street Dance Crew, University of
the East Caloocan’s Armada, Lyceum of the Philippines Laguna’s Lyceum Spartans Dance Crew,
Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila’s Iskolars Dance Incorporated, University of the Philippines Los
Baños’ Street Jazz Dance Company (UPLB-SJDC), University of Perpetual Help’s Perpetual Streetdance
(PSD), University of the Philippines Diliman’s Streetdance Club (UPSDC), Universidad de Manila’s UDM
E. Stars, and Lyceum of the Philippines University Manila’s League of Barons
The high school teams were St. Mary’s Academy of Sta. Ana’s SMA Supreme Hybrid, Xavier School’s
Dance X, School of the Holy Spirit’s Aglaia, St. Paul College Pasig’s Terpsichore, Marist High School’s
Marist High Impact, La Salle Greenhills’ Airforce, Miriam College High School’s Sayawatha, Ateneo de
Manila High School’s InDAK, School of St. Anthony’s DanSSA, Colegio San Agustin’s CSA Dance Troupe,
St. Pedro Poveda’s Enciende, and Claret School of Quezon City’s Hataw.
The chosen judges were world renowned dancers and choreographers. Among them: Wilson Ong of
Whiplash Dance Company, Georcelle Dapat of G-FORCE, and Matthew “Dumbo” Nguyen of Poreotics.
Aside from the showcase of each finalist’s competition piece, the SSB also had a fashion show featuring
the newest designs of Skechers footwear, a freestyle dance battle between representative from all the
finalists, and a Skechers Battle Crew showcase featuring pairs from each competing team.
The second runner ups were Ateneo de Manila High School’s InDAK and University of the Philippines
Diliman’s Streetdance Club (UPSDC) for the high school and college divisions respectively.

2. The first runner up for the high school division was La Salle Greenhills’ Airforce and Ateneo de Manila
University’s Company of Ateneo Dancers (CADs) for the college division.
The champions for the Skechers Streetdance Battle 10—the teams that completed the generation of
champions—were St. Pedro Poveda’s Enciende for the high school division and De La Salle University’s
La Salle Dance Company Street (LSDC Street) for the college division.
10 champions. 10 years. A generation of the country’s best dancers.

3. Miguel Beltran and Martina Manalo’s Ecstatic Motion
Art Exhibit
By Anna Nicola Blanco
Ecstatic Motion by Miguel Beltran and Martina Manalo, like the title implies, explores the ecstasy of dance,
busy streets, and dreams—both light and dark.
This is Beltran’s first art exhibit which showcases his photography—fashion and travel—and the
superimposition of different images to create dynamic and dramatic illusions.
While Beltran works primarily with mixed media photography, ballet dancer Martina Manalo likes to work
with paint and tissue paper to create different textures on her canvas. She said that her paintings are
“mostly about dreams,” and laughs at the fact that most of her paintings are dark, but she defends that she
isn’t a gloomy kind of person. “It just comes out that way.”
The works evoke a feeling of daydreaming and even nostalgia because of the local scenery. All in all, they
are the perfect combination of modern and traditional, photography and paint, digital and canvas.
Miguel Beltran studied photography at the College of Saint Benilde and has evolved from an editorial,
fashion, and travel photographer to more artistic pictures.
Martina Manalo currently works for Ballet Manila. She has had no formal training in painting. She started
painting using a plank of wood, and said she fell in love with the textures she saw on it.
The exhibit is in the Kulay Diwa Contemporary Art Gallery at 25 Lopez Avenue, Lopez Village, Sucat
Parañaque. It will run from February 7 to March 7, 2014.

4. The National Museum
By Anna Nicola Blanco
In our old beat up family pick-up truck, my mother and I made our way from our home in quiet Marikina
to the overcrowded, noisy, and dirty streets of Manila. Located in what once was the old legislative building
along Taft Avenue, the National Museum had recently received a complete internal facelift with newly
painted walls and reorganized exhibits. The place was now reminiscent of a European tourist attraction. It
now houses some of the rarest and most beautiful pieces of art in the country such as Juan Luna’s
Spoliarium as well as a number of Jose Rizal’s sculptures and an entire collection of Fernando Amorsolo’s
portraits, sketches, and notes.
After a short detour through Binondo, the old beat up pick-up finally made its way through the driveway
of the large yellow building. Newly cleaned and painted, the large imposing structure stood tall and proud
amidst the hustle and bustle of busy Manila.
Upon entrance, one is greeted with double doors leading to the first gallery for viewing: Luna at Hidalgo.
Beyond the sign, were two of the largest paintings I had seen: a Hidalgo creation which I, embarrassingly,
did not know the name of and Luna’s famous Spoliarium. I later found out that the Hidalgo work displayed
in the Hall of the Masters is called Virgenes Cristianas Expuestas al Populacho (Christian Virgins Presented to
the Populace).
The entrance fee was fair at Php 150 for an adult and Php 50 for a student upon presentation of a valid
ID, but the unfortunate reality is that there weren’t a lot of people there and maybe this can be attributed
to my going on a weekday. At most, there were 50 people there, staff included. In the fast-paced lifestyle
of this century, not a lot of people seem to have enough time to go on a day trip to a museum unless it
was a necessity.
The second gallery I visited was the gallery dedicated to Rizal. Unquestionably a renaissance man, the
gallery dedicated to the works of our national hero was small in size, but held some of the most remarkable
pieces of history in the Philippines. Sculptures and sketches lay in glass cases for the world to see. Such
was an added glimpse into the world of the writer, the artist, the hero. Apart from his original works, other
sculptures and paintings dedicated to Rizal were also available for viewing.
In a gallery on the second floor, there hung a painting of Juan Luna that I had been familiar with since my
early years in high school. The painting was entitled The Parisian Life and depicted a Parisian woman in all
her splendor sitting in what would appear to be a café. The painting was valued at Php 2.5 Million. It was
small in size and reminded me of the Mona Lisa—small but expensive.
At some point, I stumbled upon a gallery containing paintings of the Basi Revolt. This had to be the best
gallery in the place to be completely honest. Painted by one Esteban Villanueva, the series of 14 paintings
depicted the revolt of the Ilocanos against the Spaniards during the Spanish occupation of the Philippines.
According to the information displayed in the gallery, the collection was found in Villanueva’s familial
home. It is said that these paintings are the only ones which depict this moment in Philippine history. It is

5. also said that these are Villanueva’s only works or, at least, they are the only works that have been
discovered.
My next favorite room was the gallery dedicated to the art of the Japanese occupation of the Philippines.
It was here that I saw some of the most horrific and most vivid portraits of comfort women, mass murders,
and faces of once living people. One painting which truly pierced my memory was entitled Doomed Family.
In the painting, a woman was shown lying dead on the ground with her breast hanging out of her clothes
while a man on his knees who I could only assume is either a husband or a father sat beside her with his
wrists bound. The painting right next to it was that of a Japanese soldier standing amongst black and blue
comfort women. All-in-all, galleries such as this—more politically and historically relevant—leave a certain
kind of mark in a person and has the ability to ingrain the images in one’s mind.
That was the last of the exhibits that I went through. Truly, the renovations done to the National Museum
are remarkable and deserve praise. The galleries, at least those that were open for viewing, were organized
and structured in a simple and tasteful manner. And although it’s still a work in progress, it’s already
become a must see place in Manila. Kudos to those responsible.
I only hope that more people discover this beauty in the dirty and busy streets of Taft Avenue.