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BABAElan contemporary dance workshop & fundraiser with Blessyl Buan

  • The Fifth Dance 366 Adelaide Street East Toronto, ON, M5A 3X9 Canada (map)

Join choreographer and interdisciplinary artist Blessyl Buan for a 90-minute contemporary dance workshop rooted in the creation of BABAElan—a site-specific performance that celebrates feminine power, ancestral memory, and diasporic rhythm.

BABAElan was originally commissioned by the Art Gallery of Ontario for the Pacita Abadexhibition and will be remounted at Dusk Dances 2025.

The work draws inspiration from the Babaylan—precolonial Filipina spiritual leaders, healers, and community protectors. In BABAElan, the dancers embody Babae (woman) as a force of balance, intuition, and resistance. The choreography channels ancestral energy through Philippine Indigenous storytelling, hip hop and house influences, and contemporary form—bridging land, memory, and cultural resilience.

🌊 Workshop Vibe:

This workshop blends house, hip hop, and land-based movement practices into a grounded contemporary expression of diaspora. You’ll be guided through:

  • A rhythmic warm-up and body attunement

  • Phrase work inspired by Baybayin(precolonial Filipino script)

  • Improvisation using palm materials as vessels of movement and memory

  • Exploratory choreography rooted in story, rhythm, and land

🌿 Who is this for?

This workshop is open to dancers, movers, and cultural or land-based practitioners with experience in contemporary, hip hop, house, or traditional/ancestral forms. Whether you train professionally, move in ritual, or carry embodied knowledge through community, ancestry, or land—you are welcome here.

💸 Why This Matters:

All proceeds from this workshop will go directly toward the remount of BABAElan at Dusk Dances 2025.Your contribution helps cover rehearsal space, dancer fees, and pre-production costs, supporting the artists and care needed to bring this powerful work back to life.