As part of this year's Parol Lantern Festival, Master Choreographer, Sydney Loyola, has been commissioned to lead an international collaboration of Philippine folkloric dance practitioners in the Philippines and the diaspora to create Sayaw Sa Ilaw / Dancing in the Light video featuring:

Bayanihan Philippine National Folk Dance Company-Alumni
from the Philippines and Canada
Haraya Dance Project, San Francisco, CA
Barangay Dance Company, San Francisco, CA
Kariktan Dance Company, Concord, CA
Palawan Dance Ensemble, Palawan, Philippines
PASACAT, San Diego, CA
Sining Bulakenyo, Bulacan, Philippines
Dance Artists from San Francisco Bay Area, CA

About Sydney Loyola

For more than three decades, Sydney Loyola has created dance works performed by cultural groups in the US, Philippines, Asia, and Europe. She toured internationally as a principal dancer of the Bayanihan Philippine National Folk-Dance Company.

She is the founding artistic director for the American Center of Philippine Arts and co-founder of Haraya Dance Project—an ensemble that encourages initiative and participation among Filipino-American trans artists in San Francisco. 

She has received commissioning grant awards from National Endowment for the Arts (2012), Creative Work Fund (2012 and 2020), East Bay Community Foundation (2011), and Zellerbach Family Foundation (2011).

She has been a commissioned artist for several Kularts productions including Huni ng Tandikan-Palau’an Bird Call and Ba-e Makiling.

About Haraya Dance Project

Haraya Dance Project traces its conception to encourage initiative and participation among the Filipino-American trans, non-binary, and genderqueer community. Through dance, we honor the gender-neutral deities of the Philippines, we pay respect to the once-revered transgender priestesses that were eradicated in the era of colonization. Through Haraya we are able to share our authentic selves and be part of the diverse cultural landscape of San Francisco.