Chasing Cultural Authenticity: Echoes of the Kankanaey in the Midwest

Wolf, Gabrielle

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/128164 Copy

Description

Title

Chasing Cultural Authenticity: Echoes of the Kankanaey in the Midwest

Author(s)

Wolf, Gabrielle

Issue Date

2025

Keyword(s)

• Filipino
• indigenous dance

Date of Ingest

2025-05-08T12:30:52-05:00

Abstract

Why chase cultural authenticity when Manila is 8,130 miles away from Chicago, and you’ve never set foot in the Philippines—when all you have are stories and research, yet the need to connect, interpret, and represent remains just as strong?This is a dance I choreographed for Battle of the Bamboo, a Filipino dance competition. It draws inspiration from Kankanaey dances to tell Alamat ng Bundok Ara-at, a creation myth about the love between Maria Sinakuan and Ara-at, which, according to legend, became Mt. Arayat in Pampanga. While not a fully authentic representation, this piece is a contemporary fusion, blending distinct Kankanaey dances to narrate a story, and remains one of the rare moments where Kankanaey culture has been showcased on a Midwest stage. The competition and the dances it features raise a crucial question: Is cultural authenticity always the goal, or can reinterpretation be just as meaningful?My research examines how Battle of the Bamboo has evolved to reproduce indigenous Filipino culture in the Midwest, exploring how institutional influences, diasporic identity, and audience reception shape the competition. Ultimately, Battle serves as a dynamic site of cultural reproduction, where traditions are preserved and reimagined, challenging how we define authenticity in diaspora.

Type of Resource

• still image
• text

Language

eng

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2025 Gabrielle Wolf

Owning Collections