Behind the Screen: Community, Artistry, and Dance Production Excellence

from (2022) SISID: A Special Issue

Ang Bahay na Baybayin: Adjustments to the Online Setting

Marcus Gawtee, Renee Melitante, and Libby Zorilla Company of Ateneo Dancers

what would you think the Japanese animation character Astro Boy has to do with dance and production? At first thought, probably none. To tell you the truth, the symbol of the cartoon figure made its way to a dance organization’s group chant in a very special way.

Sounding their battle cry after every single endeavor, every bow, every curtain close, every shoot-wrap; and now, every phone call and zoom meeting—the members of the Company of Ateneo Dancers have still stood loud and proud consistently exclaiming: “Groove, Glory, God—Astro Boy!” But more than a group chant, this set of words encapsulates everything that the Company of Ateneo Dancers stand and strive for.

Founded in 1994, the Company of Ateneo Dancers (CADs) has been the premier dance and production management company at the Ateneo de Manila University. Consisting of student artists from various disciplines, the organization fosters a culture of excellence through collaboration between its two main divisions: the Performer’s Division and Production Division.

Before the pandemic, CADs performed for gigs and produced events as well as participated in competitions. Today, the organization has made major adjustments to the virtual scene by preparing online events, projects, and concerts through different platforms such as Zoom, YouTube, and Facebook.

The two divisions cannot function without each other and make the organization whole. Their relationship leads us back to CADs’ “Groove, Glory, God—Astro Boy!” chant. Though the first 3 words are considerably self-explanatory, the current CADs President Sabina Manlutac gives us an idea of how the cartoon character made its way there.

According to Sabina, the first three words have always been there for a long time, while the “Astro Boy” segment was added later on, only around 10 years ago. It made its way to the chant after a timid and shy teammate made a significant impression on the rest of the members. Uniquely, she had always worn an Astro Boy shirt which helped the members call her easily and eventually nicknamed her

as such. Now, this story becomes significant within how “Astro Boy” herself would always be left out, even during group huddles. Despite her reserved nature, the team always made sure to call her “Astro Boy!” and invite her to come and join them—leaving no one behind and eventually attaching itself to the org’s battle cry.

In a sense, this origin story welcomes the idea of CADs as a place where no one would get left behind in the pursuit of art and excellence. It welcomes the organization as an environment for a strong sense of community which eventually fosters selfactualization by repurposing their passions into art.

“Company?” Community!

Despite the organization’s name being the “Company” of Ateneo Dancers, CADs goes beyond its label. More than that, CADs is a community—a tight-knit circle, a closely bonded pack with a kinship between individuals who not only find a home within the organization itself, but within each other. Through its member diversity, CADs is able to cultivate a robust and harmonious sense of community that empowers its members to initiate, collaborate, lead, and inspire through dance and production.

But the big question is: how? How is CADs able to create an environment entirely for and by the members? The answer lies in the nature of the org’s composition of members, its structure of people—every unit, every hand, and every heart it welcomes per year. Coming directly from the members themselves, CADs “is a melting pot of different types of people,” ranging from different backgrounds, skills, and talents; a culmination of different crossroads, each with their own unique gift to offer.

This sense of diversity is explicitly seen through the group’s very organizational structure being split into the previously aforementioned major divisions, which are further divided to

even more specialized groups of talents such as the Street and Contemporary Division on the Performer’s end as well as the Backstage, Front-of-House, Traditional Creatives, Non-Traditional Creatives, Lights, Sounds, and Documentations Committees on the Production end. There are even all-around members who can assume multiple tasks and responsibilities of the divisions called Constreet-ers or Prod-formers, who are essentially living fusions of dance-production expertise.

Although the divisions have parted the members by their field of focus, there are further efforts to unite members in different ways. One of these is the Anakan System, where upperclassmen would “adopt” the newbies to accommodate them in their stay in the organization by acting as their family. In this way, the organization is made not only as an avenue where artistic ideas are shared but also as a place where one can find their people.

Encountering that much variety within a pool of people allows more room for member involvement as different tasks, projects, and ideas require different needs. CADs always manages to unite in artistic fusion amidst their incredible diversity through collaboration in their projects.

Chief Finance Officer, Francine Ermita, notes that “members unleash their creativity here [in CADS],” which is something she witnessed during a RIB shoot. She describes being present in that shoot with a sense of wonder and bewilderment as she witnessed how everyone was locked in on their task—“in the zone and their element.” The Street Head, Enzo Jover, adds to this by saying how CADs “highlights the community that is important in creativity,” and how every output is “never like an I did this but a we.”

Needless to say, allowing one’s creativity to flow is not the only thing present at this moment since it is concurrently joint with people learning from each other’s talent. Soleil Uyliapco, the current Documentations Head, expresses this as she shares how she grew from “witnessing the works of others” who acted as her

mentors and helped her in her journey. Seeing how other members would work can also serve as a motivation for one to excel in his field. “When you are surrounded by people who want to strive for this excellence, you cannot help but get that energy as well. The community, I feel like I can see it pushing me to do better,” Bettina Cuan, a member of the Documentations committee, shares.

The “A” Stands for Artist!

CADs has always been known for its artistry in the university; it has been showcasing its excellence in dance production for almost three decades. The success of these events could not have been done without the collaborative efforts of the dancers and production staff, who continuously develop their skills through training, gigs, and workshops. These definitely benefit the organization in its artistic growth while simultaneously providing an avenue for CADsters to pursue their passions and express their emotions, unlocking their inner confidence and potential.

The organization has helped its members to grow in various instances, breaking the preconceived notion of the organization being limited to just dance. Chief Marketing Officer, Marian Almendras, shares how CADs “repurpose” the members’ talents in many different ways, such as allowing the members to participate in core teams, leadership roles, and other available roles in its initiatives. Aside from being a platform for growth, the opportunities in CADs can be therapeutic for some members like Regeena Vicente (Street Division), as it allows them to release their emotions and “distract themselves from the things going on around the world.”

Because of this, growth in CADs comes in all forms as the organization provides opportunities, such as leadership positions and outreach projects, for its members to discover more of

themselves. It can be said that this growth is addictive, especially when it comes to striving for “excellence,” a term that is frequently used. This somehow explains why some members are motivated to push their boundaries and find ways to evolve, as in a time when a competition piece was inspired by a meme. It might also be the reason why some people choose to stay in CADS.

While excellence has impacted many CADs members, they are also well aware of its implications. “I was also part of a core team in another org…the reason why I prefer CADs is that the people really strive for excellence…everything they do should be amazing. I feel like having excellence in our culture is a double-edged sword. There may be so much pressure, but it helps in our growth,” Nica Rosete, a Backstage member shares.

Excellence may be a great ideal to possess, but it can be the reason why some members get intimidated by the work, experience burnout, or even leave the organization: “When it comes to like, anything you create, you can do whatever you want, as long as it makes sense…but then there’s like, pressure…I don’t know where it comes, probably comes from, like, the higher-ups…There’s a pressure not to screw up,” a backstage member expressed.

Challenges to Artistic Growth

Beyond excellence, the online setup is a major hurdle on its own. Although the community is making an effort to stand strong against the current situation through different bonding initiatives such as the Tambuilding, it cannot be helped that some efforts were in vain. Projects used to be one way for the members to engage and bond with each other, but this rarely happens since there is a lack of interaction. Moreover, the online shift has definitely made it difficult for some to establish genuine relationships. Despite platforms like Zoom and Discord, it has been challenging to

establish a human connection with others whose cameras are off and microphones are muted.

Moreover, it is easy to lose motivation when the work has shifted online; this is especially true for some prod divisions like Front-ofHouse (FoH) and Backstage. Members are unmotivated to do gigs, which becomes a problem for the heads. A possible reason could be that the work is not as fulfilling as the onsite tasks. However, the lack of motivation is also present in the performer division. For instance, it is a challenge for contemporary dancers to be active as some may feel that they are training for nothing.

The pandemic has definitely limited interaction, which resulted in some divisions discontinuing their onsite tasks or restricting them from developing their talents. For example, those who are in Lights do not reap any benefit from the situation since they cannot do their tasks without the proper equipment, while it is more dificult for contemporary dancers to teach each other through their screens.

Another problem with the online system is that it is hard to maintain the quality of different projects requiring promos and shoots. Before, there would be a team of people who would work together on a project, and everyone had a role to play. However, everything changed when things went online since shoots suddenly became a DIY thing.

Despite all this, CADs does not let a challenge go by. The pandemic has made CADs very considerate of its members’ wellbeing in different ways. One of these is implementing CADs Wellness Hours, which restricts members from doing any CADs-related work at certain times.

Another initiative is the grievance form that allows members to communicate their concerns. The organization also checks upon its members from time to time by scheduling individual consultations. The goal is to really put the members’ needs before anything else, to

ensure they are still fit to work given the challenging circumstances the pandemic has placed them.

The Wait for Opening Night

The stage has remained empty for the past two years, but this has not stopped CADs from delivering dance production from behind their screens. CADs reformulated their events like TamBuilding, PhysiCADs, and the Year-End Concert (see dance performances), among others, to better fit the online setup.

The loss of physical space impacted the organization’s systems and processes, but also compelled leaders to rethink roles and responsibilities as well as the value placed on their members, the community, the artistry produced, and everyone’s well-being.

CADs members highlighted how the organization has been constantly adapting to the changes posed by every shifting circumstance, while also acknowledging the reality that everyone has been navigating through new and unknown terrain. This terrain has been riddled with issues like burnout, demotivation, and not feeling that sense of community and belonging that was felt, talked about, and was once there.

The pandemic did not leave the organization unscathed and members have been aching to find their way back on stage, to groove to the music, and be surrounded by people and each others’ energies. “I just miss dancing face to face. So I think that’s one thing I’m definitely looking forward to and hope to experience in the near future,” Regeena Vicente, a Street member, shares.

For members who entered during the pandemic, the online setting is and has been the norm for them. With seniors graduating soon, only a number of members who have experienced on-site gigs and events will be left with two batches who have never experienced life on campus. Despite the anxieties and worries that this might

induce, members seem to express confidence in the organization’s possible shift back to the on-site environment.

As Nadine Coronado, a street member, states, “All of us learned so much from all of this—from the pandemic and the online setting—and it’s not yet over, but a lot has happened. I just know that CADs is way more equipped now and ready for anything that comes their way.” However, members also realize that shaking up the status quo would require change and learning. As Nica Rosete, a Backstage member, points out “I feel like when we go back on-site, there will definitely be a learning curve.”

While the challenges and changes are far from over, the organization’s pursuit of artistry and excellence, or dance production excellence has never stopped. Members of the Company of Ateneo Dancers are continuously looking forward to strengthening and revitalizing camaraderie in the community, finding ways to improve on, innovate, and offer what they know to the larger artistic scene. As members of the organizations see hope for the future, they envision themselves on stage or behind the scenes ready to perform.