Canton

“They moved like shadows, heavy and ponderous across the stage, carrying the weight of a hidden world where people often remain nameless and unnamed. 

Despite the darkness of the theme, the piece showed a seamless choreographic flow.” – Rina Angela Corpus, Curator Magazine

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Canton is a non-linear narrative inspired by the lives of young girls and women struggling as survival sex workers in urban poor relocation sites.

The urban sprawl of Manila, Philippines is home to thousands of Filipino families who migrate from the provinces to find work in the congested capital. Many become illegal settlers who are later on moved by the government to relocation sites three to four hours away from work in the city.

Removed from their livelihoods, only a lucky few manage to retain their jobs. For the great majority of settlers, many of whom are women, unemployment and crime become their daily fare in the harsh conditions of the site. Driven by hunger, many women and young girls sell their bodies to transient truck drivers for a packet of canton—instant noodles. More physical theatre than contemporary dance, kinetic collage instead of linear storytelling, Canton portrays what it means to be a woman at the lowest end of the urban food chain, and interrogates what it means to hope when one is desolate and voiceless. 

Choreography and Direction by Ea Torrado

Music by Various Artists

Costume Design by John Carlo Pagunaling

Lighting Design by Katsch Catoy

Dancers: Nicolo Magno, Jared Jonathan Luna, Buboy Raquitico, Jomarie Cruz, Zyda Baaya, Ayumi Oquino, Jane Marco, Ea Torrado

Performances: FRINGE MNL Festival, Daloy USA Tour 2016

Photo Credit: Erickson Dela Cruz