‘In Passing,’ studio rehearsal, choreographed by Kristin Jackson. University of Melbourne, 2019 Photo by Neville Kelly
This Women's Month, Daloy Dance Company would like to feature women in Philippine Contemporary Dance whose contribution we find valuable and relevant.
Here is a short interview with Rina Angela Corpus. She is an Assistant Professor of Art Studies at the University of the Philippines. She studied and performed with the Quezon City Ballet, trained in Limon dance in New York, physical theater in Austria, nihonbuyo in Kyoto, and Qigong in Manila and Australia; published two books in dance, “Defiant Daughters Dancing” and “Dance and Other Slippages” (UP Press), and widely written essays on culture and dance. She is also a meditation teacher, and integrates the practice in her dance and arts workshops. Her dance films have been presented in Melbourne Fringe, Luminous Frames Film Festival, Muse Festival, and Bold Festival-Australia.
Q AND A with Rina Angela Corpus:
What is your relationship to Contemporary Dance or Dance like? How has it evolved over the years?
Growing up in the Philippines, I have always enjoyed solitude and silent spaces. Silence, which I connect to my sense of the spiritual world, have always been a source of awe, wonder and comfort. If I look back to my years as a young ballet dancer, I remember enjoying more of the adagio variations, their sense of silent pauses that had stillness and gravitas.
Perhaps I have always seen dance as a numinous, otherworldly experience in that way.
This translates to how in terms of dance, I have been drawn more to movements that have a strong sense of contemplative stillness in them, such as the Japanese Noh and nihonbuyo, which I eventually studied. I’ve also been drawn to Qigong. In my 20s, this interest in the aesthetics of stillness and silence eventually led me to discover the works of Kristin Jackson, a Filipina-American dance artist in New York whose compelling works had the same qualities of stillness-in-motion, together with an attention to the inner life and autobiography expressed in dance. I chose to study and perform her works as part of my Phd performance. It was challenging to perform them due to health challenges that emerged for me, and the fact that I am a more mature dancer now. But the process was satisfying and led me to reflect on deeper aspects of myself in the context of my affinity to Philippine culture, as well as to other movement somatic traditions that I have been drawn to study.
L: Still from ‘Mutya,’ dance film for Performance Studies International, 2015. Videography by Mervine Aquino. R: 'Sacred Space'. videography by Pat Nabong
What are you most passionate about as a teacher or facilitator? What do you hope your students get out of a workshop or session you give?
I teach Art Studies or Humanities, so it’s not just dance per se but the whole spectrum of art and culture. Through years of teaching in the university, I have greatly enjoyed imparting notions about art that challenge students’ preconceived notions about art and beauty. I enjoy unpacking ideas on art and everyday life, aesthetics, and art in relation to philosophy, history, movements and social realities. I enjoy getting students to think out of the box, that art is not just about aesthetics but it constellates to a wider reality. In recent times, I have been injecting more topics around ecology and spirituality. I find it a joy to make students see and feel that they have their own agency to appreciate, connect with, be critical of, and also create art. I encourage them to discover their own peculiar sense and notion of beauty, and allow them to find their personal values in the process.
Occasionally, I get to teach courses in dance aesthetics, theory and criticism.
From ‘Bird’ dance video by Katrina Rank, 2020. Photo by Katrina Rank.
‘Pakiusap’ solo for International Women’s Month celebration, SM Aura, March 2019. Photo by Maya Tamayo.
What is the most memorable dance production or workshop (PH based) for you?
A memorable dance workshop was the one I attended in UP as a college student – my first contact improvisation class with an Italian teacher from Swiss Chamber Ballet. I just felt how it was so different from the other dance classes I've been to – the teacher was like our equal rather than a detached master– he was just facilitating the process and allowing our personal movement experiments to emerge, not the usual master teacher.
In recent years, I enjoyed the workshops with Daloy movement when I would come back for research visits from Australia. I felt seen, accepted, and heard just as I am. I guess the Tagalog terms used also resonated with my being. In Melbourne, the movement classes also tend to be more egalitarian, collaborative and accepting of each one’s differences and capacities. There’s so much freedom to create.
Tell us more about your interest in Somatics and Movement Meditation, do you think more Philippines dancers should get into these too?
Somatics fosters awareness of the mind-body connection, and I think this is what drew me to study meditation in my early 20s. The process of bringing my sense of the meditative into my dance experience had many layers to it for me – there’s Raja yoga and Qigong, and my study of dance traditions such as nihonbuyo and Noh – all these practices instilled a sense of stillness-in-motion which i unpacked and called ‘galaw-nilay’ in my dissertation. I think the somatic movement that is native to one’s physicality and supportive of one’s basic sense of spirituality will eventually emerge with time and attention.
I think the turn to somatics and meditative movement is a shift to make movement more accessible, if not healing and more responsive to every kind of body. At the end of the day, it’s still about finding your own movements that feel natural and nurturing for you not just as a dancer, but as a human being.
Rina Angela Corpus' ‘Natsuwa Hotaru’, Nihonbuyo Solo at Oe Noh Theater, photo courtesy of Kyoto Art Center, 2016
You’ve written books and articles about Philippines choreographers, as well as about contemporary dance shows. Is this something you hope to continue as a writer? And share with us some fascinating stories from being a writer for dance.
I’ve written mostly essays, academic and scholarly writing. But I have been drawn to write more poetry in recent years, even injected them in my dissertation. I’ve also used poetry to animate and add layers to some of my dance films. Keen to do more creative writing and perhaps interface it with dance.
Photo still from ‘Nilay’ dance film, videography by Takeshi Kondo, 2020
What are your interests now, personal and professional?
In recent years, I have been more interested in the aesthetics of interiority. It’s about creating art through a sustained meditation with the inner self, the interior life, and to see how that constellates out in relation to wider historical and cultural realities. This sprung from my research on autobiography in dance through my PhD in Dance at University of Melbourne, so that included looking into moments from my own life story, how they intersect with the worldviews I’ve held, my personal values, and the politics I forward. The process has been generative in making and reflecting about on dance and art-making. It eventually evolved into the aesthetics of ‘galaw-nilay’, or movement meditation which draws from an interior space. But dance is also relational, it is one that intersects with my specific experiences of moving and being, using Tagalog language, and experiences of dance in the Philippines. I was not keen on using Tagalog at first in the thesis, but Carol Brown, our dance chair at the University of Melbourne, encouraged me to look into Philippine language to articulate my specific experiences of meditative movement. The process opened up many layers of articulation for me.
What is your typical day like?
I start my day with meditation at 4am. I use it to connect to myself and get inner guidance. After that, some light movements. Then I take a bath and prepare to listen to some inspirational or spiritual class. Then I prepare my breakfast and plan for the rest of my day. If I have to teach a class, I just review the materials and plan. I also have a social media community where I share some news and connect with. If needed, I go back to some writing or project that I need to do. I leave some room to play, write, daydream, and just connect to people in my circle. I do some Qigong or some improv movements during the day. I pause to spend short quiet moments with my body and breath when i feel i need to replenish my mind.
Do you have upcoming work, like a dance film or dance production? Can you tell us what it’s about?
I just returned from Melbourne where many things have inspired me. My experience of performing in Katrina Rank’s screendance, Bird, during the pandemic is something that I wish to experiment with sometime, even if it’s just virtual. Let’s see what develops – I am hoping to do something that is meaningful for me at the present as I transition back to my cultural roots.
What are your dreams for audiences of contemporary dance in the Philippines?
That they be involved in some kind of dance practice or experience dance in their own, unique ways.That they be inspired to write, create or be involved in dance or any art practice, in their own way. Art is everyone’s birthright.
What are your upcoming workshops or projects and how can we contact you, to work with you?
Just send me a line at r.angelacorpus@gmail.com or my FB https://www.facebook.com/rinacorpus/
NAME: Rina Angela Corpus
TITLE: Educator, dance scholar, writer, movement artist, meditation teacher
AGE: 45
PRONOUN/S: she/her
CITY YOU ARE CURRENTLY BASED IN: Antipolo
Short Profile:
Rina Angela Corpus writes, moves and teaches coming from a lifelong interest in the arts, spirituality and sacred narratives in culture. She integrates her long-time practice of Qigong and Raja yoga meditation with somatic and dance practices, bringing their meditative and poetic resonances into her movement expression. She completed her PhD in Dance at the University of Melbourne, focusing on a practice-led research and performance on meditative dance or “galaw-nilay”, and the aesthetics of Filipina-American choreographer Kristin Jackson's work.
She is an Assistant Professor of Art Studies at the University of the Philippines,
She studied and performed with the Quezon City Ballet, trained in Limon dance in New York, physical theater in Austria, nihonbuyo in Kyoto, and Qigong in Manila and Australia; published two books in dance, “Defiant Daughters Dancing” and “Dance and Other Slippages” (UP Press), and widely written essays on culture and dance. In Melbourne, her most influential dance mentors are Helen Herbertson and Katrina Rank. She has performed with Katrina Rank's Fine Lines Contemporary Body. She is also a meditation teacher, and integrates the practice in her dance and arts workshops. Her dance films have been presented in Melbourne Fringe, Luminous Frames Film Festival, Muse Festival, and Bold Festival-Australia.
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