Dance Luminary Gener Caringal Bags Gawad CCP Para Sa Sining Award

Philippine Ballet Theatre performs Gener Caringal's " Vinta" at the International Dance Festival 2024

Dance luminary Gener Caringal has bagged this year's Gawad CCP Para Sa Sining Award for Dance. He will be recognized for his choreographic works that integrate ballet, modern dance, and folk dance  that enriches the development of Philippine Dance. Undoubtedly, this is a well-deserved recognition for Caringal. But in truth, Caringal is simply more than that. He is a jack of all trades, a multifaceted magician of an artist who can create something out of virtually nothing. He is a visionary leader who can create structures that spell out his legacy to be enjoyed by future generations. Caringal has been a household name in the dance industry for decades. He first made a mark as a dance artist when he showed his undeniable presence in Ballet Philippines and the University of the East Dance Troupe. His range of movement and fierce artistry has been captured multiple times often serving as a reference for significant ballets from the past. But what others did not know then was that his sterling dance career was only a speck of what would be his indelible mark in the dance community. Caringal was unstoppable as he nurtured all of his skill sets through the years and took on paths not many would have taken. Instead of pursuing commercially rewarding projects, he created passion projects that would become stepping stones for bigger things.

As a choreographer, he was one of the brave people who gambled and created full Filipino ballets. For Philippine Ballet Theater alone he has crafted four major ballets including "Andres", "Darangen ni Bantugen, " Bagong Bituin, and "Galleon". It takes a village to create a full-length ballet because of the massive work behind it. The risk of criticism is also sky-high because the local audience is familiar with the themes. However, Caringal believed in the importance of educating audiences about our heritage so he braved the challenges and the storms to produce ballets that will resonate. This is in addition to the massive body of work he created capturing the essence of the Filipinos. Caringal's work has been performed by major companies like Philippine Ballet Theatre, Ballet Philippines, University of the East, and of course the now defunct Gener Caringal Dance Repertory. His pieces have remained timeless classics that would be constants in the company repertoire. His well applauded Vinta created in 1989 was just performed by PBT at the recent International Dance Festival hosted by Samsung Performing Arts Theatre. This piece has been a constant in the Company's repertoire for thirty-five years. Ang Sultan created in 1979 was performed by Ballet Philippines and Philippine Ballet Theatre several times and each time it would always be a meaningful piece that never disappointed.

As a leader in the dance community, he has ensured that he created structures and repertoires that would be nation-building. As Artistic director of various companies(PBT, BP II UE, PNB Dance Group, Yeh Shian Folk ballet, Gener Caringal Dance Repertory) he made sure to support other Filipino choreographers. He made sure every season had something innately Filipino. He pursued international tours for the various groups that he handled. He was the head of the National Committee on Dance of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and spearheaded massive regional dance education projects utilizing local dance talents from all over the Philippines. He would also always move projects with the spirit of real collaboration, honoring all artists who joined his project and allowing them to shine in their own way. This is why in his years of service to the dance community he was recognized many times. His awards include Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan, 1997; the Distinguished Achievement Award from UE, 2006; the Diwa ng Lahi Award from the City of Manila, 2018; and the C-MAP National Award for Choreography from C-MAP Choreographers Festival Internationale, 2019 and now the prestigious Gawad CCP Award. The Gawad CCP Para Sa Sining is the highest award given by CCP to artists or groups of artists in dance, music, theater, film and broadcast arts, literature, visual arts, architecture, and allied arts and design who have/have consistently produced outstanding works in their particular art form or have/had evolved a distinct style or technique that enriches the development of their particular art form. This so far is his most prestigious of accomplishments. It would come as no surprise if he is nominated as National Artist for Dance soon. Caringal along with the other awardees will be recognized publicly on September 20, 2024, at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater. The awardees will receive a citation, a medal, and a cash gift of Php50,000 (for living awardees). The other awardees who will join him on awards night are as follows. 

• IÑIGO HOMER “JOEY” AYALA, cited for his works as a composer, songwriter, and singer
• MARIA LEA CARMEN SALONGA, for her unparalleled achievements as a performing artist who has been recognized both nationally and internationally, putting the Philippines on the global theater map. 
• JOSE LACABA JR, for his outstanding works as a poet, essayist, screenwriter, and journalist, contributing to the development of Philippine literature. 
• MIGUEL “MIKE” DE LEON, for his outstanding works as director, writer, producer, and cinematographer, enabling the advancement of filmmaking in the Philippines. 
• MARIO O’HARA (posthumous), for his outstanding work as a director, actor, and writer that enriched the development of film and broadcast arts in the country. 
• JULIE LLUCH, for her terracotta sculptures that mirror and reflect the wisdom she had acquired as she took on different life roles, initiating a resurgence in artmaking in the Philippines. 
• GINO GONZALES, or his use of non-conventional and everyday industrial and commercial materials, experiments with space, as well as his promotion of the Philippine Terno. 
• LOBOC CHILDREN’S CHOIR for their performances that promote the heritage of Bohol and show the significance of using and preserving local heritage. 
• MARILYN GAMBOA for her outstanding contributions as a cultural administrator that have helped sustain cultural institutions and programs in Negros Occidental.
•  SEN. EDGARDO J. ANGARA and ZENAIDA “NEDY” R. TANTOCO will receive posthumously the Tanging Parangal ng CCP.