Tinikling Dance
Smithsonian Folklife Festival Feelings (Please click to hear the childrens views about going to Washington.)
Rehoboth’s cultural dance team have been selected from among thousands of nominations worldwide to participate in the 2011 Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington D.C. The U.S. Peace Corps are celebrating their 50th Anniversary and have partnered with the Smithsonian to bring groups from around the world to share the work of Peace Corps and the different cultures that their volunteers work with. In June 2010 Peace Corps Philippines asked for nominations of volunteers to participate in the festival and Leah (our Peace Corps Volunteer) and Rehoboth were chosen. Rehoboth represented the Philippines at this festival by presenting their Tinikling cultural dance.
The festival ran from Thursday 30th June – July 4th and then again from July 7th – 11th. The participants performed twice a day on the main stage and had to explain the cultural significance and history of the dance to the audience. They also conducted cooking demonstrations of traditional Filipino foods, local craft projects and talked with visitors.
Eight Rehoboth residents (over 18 years old), two supervisors from Rehoboth Kathryn Thompson, Leah and her husband Tom (Peace Corps Volunteers) accompanied the youngsters.
This was an amazing, once in a lifetime opportunity for our young people. They stayed with their supervisors and other folk life participants in a hotel near the festival site and had a chance to meet with other youngsters from around the world and learn about their cultures as well as see a little of life in America.