Sunday, May 20, 2012

Connecticut Details

Here is the program for next Saturday's show in New Haven:

REX NAVARRETE in
"TGIF - Thank God I'm Filipino"
May 26, Saturday, 6:00 p.m. (Doors open at 5:30 p.m.)

Hill Regional Career High School Auditorium
140 Legion Avenue, New Haven CT 06519

Project Philippines 2012 Opening Program

"Seeds" Trailer
Produced by: Igigi Studios

“Recuerdo”
Choreography by: Dardo Galletto
Performance by: Ritsuko and Leonides Arpon

“Till There Was You”
Music by: Meredith Willson from The Music Man

“Memory”
Music by: Andrew Lloyd Webber from Cats

“O Mio Babbino Caro”
Music by: Giacamo Puccini from the opera Gianno Schicchi
Performance by: Marie Mercado

“Canceling The Noise”
Choreography and Performance by: Nathan Madden

“SEEDS”
Created by: Gianina Ferreyra of Igigi Studios

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Kickstarter Campaign Complete! We're Officially Going!

We did it! We far surpassed our minimum goal of $2500, and got close to our "aim high" goal of $5000! The team cannot express our gratitude highly enough for the generosity and support of our friends and family that contributed to this campaign. We said that every single dollar counted, and we truly believe that without all of those small contributions, we may not have even reached our minimum goal. Of course the larger contributions certainly helped as well!

In addition, we have purchased our flights, so Project Philippines 2012 is now "officially" a reality! Of course, we were prepared to do just about anything to get there, but knowing that the tickets are purchased makes it feel so much more like a reality! We are all very exited. So, again, from the bottom of our hearts,

Thank you!
Salamat!
Mabuhay!

Project Philippines in New Haven, Connecticut

Project Philippines will be opening for:
Rex Navarrete in "TGIF - Thank God I'm Filipino"
May 26, Saturday, 6:00 p.m.
(Doors open at 5:30 p.m.)
Hill Regional Career High School Auditorium
140 Legion Avenue, New Haven CT 06519


We will be showing the Project Philippines 2008 Documentary Trailer, 3 to 4 dance and music performances and then the Full Documentary. We will update this blog once we get the performance order and specifics.

Project Philippines 2012 will have our own table at the event as well with information about the project. We hope to see you there!

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

KICKERSTARTER A SUCCESS!!

Dearest Friends/Family,

We worked hard and were able to surpass our kickstarter goal of $2500! However, our "big" goal was $5000, so if you haven't donated, yet, and you think you can, please do! Again, even $1 will help.

Thank you so much to everyone who donated! With this money, we are so close to our final goal, and to being able to secure all of our travel arrangements.

For those of you who still wish to donate, please go to: http://tinyurl.com/pp2012kickstarter

Love,
Brian, Chelsea, Kendra, Kyle, Leo, and Midori

Art for a Cause at the Philippine Consulate:

Our April 30th Art for a Cause show at the Philippine Consulate office began with a trailer for the documentary of when Project Philippines first traveled in 2008. It was a beautiful way to set the stage for the following 90-minute show. It can be viewed here: http://youtu.be/pIsDL4U7-hc. This was followed by a beautiful duet by Kendra Isobel Samson and Chelsea Ainsworth. During their duet, as well as between each act of the show, "dialogues" of each of the Project Philippines members played over the loudspeakers, explaining much of the team's viewpoint on teaching, the arts, and the importance of outreach.

Brian Gnojek and Midori Samson performed three short, contrating pieces for clarinet and bassoon starting with the whimsical first movement of the duo Sonata by Francis Poulenc. Following this was "Blending Music", written for and dedicated to Project Philippines 2012 by Juilliard composer Molly Joyce. For a finale, Brian and Midori performed "Vals Venezolano", a latin waltz by clarinetist and composer Paquito D'Rivera, arranged by Mr. Gnojek.

The audience had the pleasure of seeing violinist Charles Yang perform two brilliant works, the first a thrilling, caprice-like piece titled "Motion" by Mr. Yang himself, followed by Mr. Yang's own arrangement of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody for solo violin.

The fourth act of the performance was the dance "In a box", Choreographed by Manuel Vignoulle, performed by himself and Manon Parent. The audience was truly mesmerized by this powerful piece.

Leonides and Ritsuko Arpon performed a tango, "Recuerdo", choreographed by Dardo Galletto, utilizing the entire Consulate stage, and truly showing off their dance skills which Leo intends to share with the students in the Philippines!

Evan Shinners brought the house down with performances of Bach from his "Bach-upy America" initiative. Colorful rings and American flag shirts abounded.

The final performance before intermission was by Kyle Netzeband (assisted by the other members of the team), assembling his famous "Fly in Clouds" piece: a collection of oil pastel paintings that create a large Filipino flag. The paintings are based on photos from the previous educational outreach trip to the Philippines, and can be seen on our Kickstarter page at http://tinyurl.com/pp2012kickstarter.

The second half of the night's performance consisted of a screening of a 30-minute documentary on Project Philippines 2008, by videographer Gianina Ferreyra (she was part of the 2008 team) who is founder of Igigi Studios. Igigi Studios is working on a full-length documentary to submit to film festivals. This documentary really got across what the 2008 team was able to accomplish, and inspired both the audience and the team about our goals for 2012.

Overall, it was an amazing night of talented people, and a wonderful, generous audience. Thank you to everyone who performed, and a SPECIAL thanks to those who attended and donated to our cause! That night brought us much closer to our goal.