Ang Kalatas July 2016 Issue | Page 18

18 THE MESSAGE. BRINGING INTO FOCUS FILIPINO PRESENCE IN AUSTRALIA www.kalatas.com.au | Volume 6 Number 10 | JULY 2016 ENTERTAINMENT Ignatius ignites the world From page 17 UPeepz (WSB International Monster Crew Champions 2015). Photo: ES Fotografi. Battlegrounds Dance Championship going national in July AUSTRALIA’S biggest international hip-hop street dance competition, World Supremacy Battlegrounds (WSB), returns to Australia in July with a series of qualification events across the country. The international finals will culminate in Sydney on September 9-11. More than 4,000 of the best Australian Hip Hop dancers are expected to register and compete nation-wide for a chance to represent the Australian national team in September. They will face some of the best dance crews from New Zealand, South Africa, the Philippines, Malaysia, USA, Canada, Solomon Islands and Singapore. In its thirteenth year, the World Supremacy Battlegrounds (WSB) Qualifiers will be jam-packed with cool X Factor and YouTube celebrities, dynamic dance battles, electrifying musical performances, MAS Creative Camp and market stalls. Twelve vacant titles are up for grabs, including the School Division and a brandnew Kids Division. Filipino-Australian dancers feature prominently in the Hip Hop dance scene around Australia. One of the better-known crews, Kookies N Kream from Liverpool, started their dance journey from Battlegrounds before they made it big on Australia's Got Talent a few years ago. K'N'K choreographer Jet Valencia said, "We love this competition. We are passionate about dance. We want to represent our families and share our talents to everyone." Young dancer Michael Flores from Merrylands added, “Battlegrounds is an amazing competition as it provides a platform for dancers across the globe to show what they got. The reason why I compete is to share with the community my own expression on dance and to further my skills as a performer and dancer. What excites me is the vibe of the event, alongside the support of all dancers.” The Philippines will be well represented in September by a 400-strong RP national squad, led by defending international Open division champions Asian Pride from Mandaluyong, and two-time champions FMD Xtreme of Marikina City. Battlegrounds 2016 Tour Dates • July 9: Adelaide @ Michael Murray Performing Arts Theatre • July 16: Sydney @ Netball Central Sydney Olympic Park • July 23: Perth @ Kennedy Baptist College • July 30: Brisbane @ Logan Metro Indoor Sports Centre • Sept 9-11: WSB Championship @ Mounties Sydney To register online, visit www. worldsupremacybattlegrounds. com. For general enquiries, contact 0420307753. videos Monica's House and Monica's Seaside Adventure which involved popular children's entertainer and jazz singer Monica Trapaga, his youngest sibling. Another work where Ignatius showed his creative brilliance was his direction of Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld for the Australian Opera in 2003. For t his work, he received a 2004 Australian Green Room Award nomination for Best Director of an Opera. He also co-wrote a new translation of Orpheus from French, with colleagues Philip Scott and Jonathan Biggins. This earned the three of them an AWGIE Award for Best Adaptation of a Dramatic Work, from the Australian Writers' Guild. NON-STOP DREAMING Ignatius said that planning for next year's Vivid Sydney event has already started and next time he hoped to infuse it with a Pinoy touch "I'd dearly love to have a giant parol [lantern] featured in Vivid Sydney. I have attended the 2015 Giant Lantern Festival in San Fernando, Pampanga and was very impressed with the amazing parols. I have been in dialogue with the Philippine Consulate, the tourism department and potential sponsors to make this a reality. We are nearly there." He said that one big dream is to go back to the Philippines and work on a show for one of the big casinos there. “The Philippines is the most artistic nation on earth, as most everyone can sing and dance. My speciality is using old art forms to create new ones. It would be great to put together a show that will bring out the wonderful Filipino artistic talents." With Ignatius' passion and creativity, it is highly likely that these dreams will become a reality. ** Vivid Sydney photos from vividsydney.com New Promo from Western Union 30-Day TFC.tv Lite Package The Western Union Company, a leader in global payments services, today announced that it has signed a promotion agreement with ABS-CBN Global Group to offer Western Union consumers key markets access to TFC.tv Lite Package . The promotion is open to all consumers in participating countries who send money to the Philippines through Western Union® or Vigo (Canada only) Agent retail locations or wu.com from May 15 to August 15, 2016. Each transfer paid out in the Philippines within five (5) days from the transaction date qualifies the sender to one (1) redemption of TFC.tv Lite Package valid for thirty (30) days. A maximum of three (3) redemptions is allowed for each sender during the promotion period. The promotion also offers access to a seven (7)-day archive of programs on the TFC.tv Lite Package and ten (10) selected movies featuring John Lloyd Cruz, currently Western Union’s celebrity endorser. The promotion will be available in the US, Canada, Middle East, Oceania, Central and South America, as well as selected countries in Europe, Asia and Africa. “I am very excited about this collaboration with ABS-CBN Global Group. Their flagship product, TFC, is the leading content provider for overseas Filipinos worldwide and is accessible on a variety of platforms; cable, satellite, videoon-demand, IPTV, mobile and online. Offering access to the rich content that TFC provides to consumers who send money to the Philippines is our way of giving back and helping them to stay connected to their heritage,” says Patricia Riingen, Senior Vice President, South East Asia and Oceania, Western Union. “Western Union is a leading global money transfer company with services available in over 200 countries and territories2. Our collaboration with Western Union will give more consumers who send money back home to the Philippines an opportunity to remain updated with news and entertainment programs from our homeland through our TFC programs, specifically via TFC.tv,” says Raffy Lopez, ABS-CBN Global COO. Last year, Western Union celebrated 25 years of moving money for better in the Philippines. Western Union recognizes that the act of transferring money is a bridge that not only sends remittances to friends and families but also acts as a conduit for building better lives in the communities it serves. This latest promotion to offer TFC demonstrates Western Union’s continued commitment to moving money for better. For more information about the guidelines of this promotion, please visit www.tfc.tv/wu