Photos originally posted in My Manila on August 13, 2009

I confess: I’ve never been much of a sports fan. I know quite a lot of faculty, staff and administrators who take time out from work to watch the UAAP basketball and football games. I’ve done it all of one time way back when I was new in my second incarnation as an Ateneo employee. What does interest me, and for which I try to make time for, are the arts and history. And the Ateneo is a veritable treasure trove when it comes to those. Aside from the plays of our various theater groups and the exhibits at the Art Gallery, I’ve enjoyed a couple of the musical performances sponsored by the Interdisciplinary Studies Department and the lecture of Dr. Summers with operatic performances by student of UST sponsored by the Fine Arts Program earlier this week (well, the last half hour of it anyway).

During the early part of the first semester, the Japanese Studies Program celebrated the Philippines-Japan Friendship Month of July with “Ongaku in Motion” and I rushed from the office to catch the first half of it, which featured traditional Japanese music and dance.

The beautiful koto is the national musical instrument of Japan. During “Ongaku in Motion” (ongaku means “music”), the two kotos were played by one member of the U.P. Koto Ensemble (sorry, I didn’t get his name) and Dr. Hiroko Yabut, the Director of the Japanese Studies Program. I have to thank Dr. Yabut for this photo—she was the one who suggested that I take it from a low angle. Thanks, too, to the lights man who trained the red spotlight on the instrument when he noticed me kneeling with my camera in front of it.

Dr. Matthew Sta. Maria, also of the Japanese Studies Program, performed a Nihon Buyo dance. It looked deceptively simple but I am sure that the slow, exact and refined movements are actually difficult to perform. Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay for the second half of the program, which featured J-pop and anime music performed by the students. That must have been quite interesting too.

Next week, the Sociology and Anthropology Department is hosting a lecture and multidisciplinary performance about Hawaii. You know where I’ll be (or try to be) on Wednesday afternoon.