Tradition collides with innovation in a dazzling display of Filipino and American cultural collaboration! The Brooklyn Manila Project unites celebrated Filipino and American performers in a truly unique performance experience ranging from meditative to electric! Totally customizing this performance for Virginia Beach audiences, this show will never be witnessed in this way again. There is only one night to experience the work of international award-winning artists from the Philippines, New York City, and Virginia Beach on stage together! The performance will start at 8 PM on Friday, January 10 at the Sandler Center for the Performing Arts.

 

The Council of United Filipino Organizations of Tidewater, Philippine Cultural Center, and Philippine-American Chamber of Commerce come together with the Sandler Center for the Performing Arts and the Virginia Beach Cultural Affairs Department to make this one-of-a-kind cross-culture performance a reality. Young students from the Philippine Cultural Center’s arts and culture programs have been collaborating miles apart with the professional artists in New York City and overseas. These Virginia Beach youth will perform on stage alongside GRAMMY-nominated musicians, cultural chieftains, and Billboard-topping stars. The organizations and the artists have arranged for a variety of community engagement sessions around the Hampton Roads area during their stay in Virginia Beach. In addition to masterclasses and rehearsals with the student performers, select cast members will visit Governor’s School for the Arts and on Saturday, January 11 at 10 AM, they will appear at the community engagement and talk-back event open to the public at the Philippine Cultural Center on Baxter Road in Virginia Beach. “Our goal is to support, present, and celebrate the vast creativity and culture of the Philippines. From deep tribal traditions to modern pop with a Brooklyn slant, this show has something for everyone.” says Chuck Palmer, Creative Producer of Brooklyn Manila Project. “We humbly hope that our Brooklyn Manila Project performances help to educate, preserve, present, and explore what it means to be Filipino, one of the richest and most diverse cultures in the world.”

 

Originally commissioned by Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, in New York City, this family-friendly program carries the audience to the Philippines on a historic journey from tribal to modern times. Informed by an unparalleled six-year collaboration between revered cultural chieftains of the Talaandig people of the Philippines and award-winning Filipino and American artists, this performance aims to illuminate and explore the space between tradition and modern life across two inter-connected countries. Artists featured include GRAMMY-nominated music directors, Dave Eggar (cello) and Chuck Palmer (percussion) from New York City; Waway Saway and Balugto Necosia (Talaandig traditional instruments) from Mindinao, Philippines; Billboard chart-topping Christmas music maven, Elizabeth Chan from New York City, Philippine’s Got Talent winner, poet, playwright, and author, Daniel Darwin from Manila; Singer/Songwriter Cynthia Alexander from Quezon City; Hip Hop and martial arts choreographer SWAG from New York City; and the talented young performers and martial artists from the Philippine Cultural Center in Virginia Beach!

 

Tickets for this exclusive event can be purchased at YnotTix.com, by calling 757-385-2787, or visiting the Sandler Center Box Office located at 201 Market Street, Virginia Beach, VA 23462. Tickets for this show are priced at $50, $40, and $30. Student, Military, and Group Discounts are available. https://www.sandlercenter.org/events/detail/brooklyn-manila-project

 

ABOUT THE BROOKLYN MANILA PROJECT: The Brooklyn Manilla Project masterfully weaves a rich tapestry of western classical groove with traditional and innovative Filipino music, modern dance, martial arts, and multi-media content as the story of Filipino life, experience, growth, and globalization unfold. Mountain rhythms from Mindanao gently embrace while the contemporary electric Manila art and music scene energizes audiences for a full-spectrum experience. Collaborations with leading artists such as Waway Saway and Balugto Poonon Necosia of the Talaandig Tribe, legendary songwriter Cynthia Alexander, winner of Philippines Got Talent (Talentadong Pinoy) Daniel Darwin, and Billboard chart-topping artist Elizabeth Chan join forces with American-Filipino choreographers, martial artists, and musicians in an unforgettable innovating evening of music theatre. Come celebrate the powerful beauty of the Filipino voice.

Music directed by GRAMMY-nominated production team Dave Eggar and Chuck Palmer (Norah Jones, Phillip Phillips, Rosanne Cash, A Great Big World, Frank Ocean, Chromeo, Evanescence), The Brooklyn Manila Project represents 6 years of in-depth artistic collaborative work in the Philippines resulting in awards from the Independent Music Awards and the Asian Culture Council.