Valenzuela City’s premier performing arts organization, the Valenzuela City Center for the Performing Arts (VCCPA), graced the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP)’s Pasinaya 2012 open-house festival for the fifth time.

Led by Executive Producer, Dr. Nedeña Torralba, the VCCPA artists trooped to the country’s culture and arts Mecca for a day of fun and learning through cultural exchange and multi-art appreciation.

According to VCCPA Artistic Director Roeder Camañag, the Pasinaya has always been a “shining, humbling and learning experience for the VCCPA artists.”

The VCCPA performed a shortened version of “Ang Kinang ni Kahlim,” a sung-through musical featuring children which tells the story of Kahlim, one of the angels sent by God to color the world during the time of the Creation when the world was still black and white.  Bearing the color black, he was persuaded by the other angels to believe that he has no purpose.  In the end, everyone realizes that they need Kahlim to provide contrast and make their hues more vibrant.

“Kahlim” features music created by multi-awarded composer Jesse Lucas with the libretto written by Jose Jeffrey Camañag, choreography by Lezlie Dailisan and stage direction by Andre Tiangco.

“With energetic movements and powerful song numbers backed by a complementing script, Philippine theater has something to look forward to with VCCPA’s ‘Kahlim.’” noted Ms. Eunice Blanco, a regular Pasinaya visitor, upon viewing the VCCPA performance.

Director Andre Tiangco remarked that VCCPA’s participation at Pasinaya 2012 was made possible due to the City’s “strong support for its theater artists, who in effect act as its cultural ambassadors.  It characterizes Valenzuela as a vibrant habitat which, aside from being a hub of commerce and industry, is also earnest in preserving its past and providing a legacy for the future through patronage of the local culture and the arts.”

“Furthermore, VCCPA’s appearance at Pasinaya 2012 demonstrates the city’s solidarity with the rest of the country in the quest for diversified appreciation and preservation of national identity through the performing arts.” added the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute alumnus.

Pasinayais the most popular one day multi-arts festival which features more than 80 shows and 2000 participating artists led by the resident companies of the CCP.  Artists perform previews of their upcoming and ongoing music, theater and dance seasons.  The festival also features visual arts exhibits, film screenings, storytelling sessions, and arts and crafts market. All the shows are free of charge.

In the past years, the VCCPA has showcased productions like “Mga Awit ng Ibong Adarna” (2008), “Sandosenang Sapatos” (2009), “Mga Ginintuang Taon ng Bodabil” (2010) and “Junto Al Pasig” (2011) at CCP’s Pasinaya.

VCCPA’s participation at the Pasinaya is a testament to Valenzuela City’s commitment to nurture and develop local talents in the field of performing arts.  In 2009, Mayor Sherwin Gatchalian, received an award from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) citing Valenzuela City as one of the twenty culture-friendly Local Government Units among the country’s 79 provinces, 118 cities and 1509 municipalities.