MANILA, Philippines - You can?t put a good company down. That has been the experience of Douglas Nierras and his Powerdance which is an example of resilience. This year, it has gone through rough spots such as canceling a major concert a week before the date, closing down its studio and suffering other business woes.

Yet despite the challenges, the company has been thriving on corporate shows, TV appearances, conducting jazz classes for call centers and, more important, going on an outreach program, holding workshops and performing to audiences by the thousands.

On the aborted concert at the Araneta Coliseum last May, Nierras explained: ?There was no sponsor. That is the hard truth. Nobody cared to partner with us in the activity. Everybody was concerned with their own CSR (corporate social responsibility).

?This was our own CSR. We wanted to make it free to the public and make it high profile at the Araneta Coliseum with stars like KC Concepcion and Gary Valenciano as guests. The companies that usually support culture had their own idea of CSR?favored to their business.?

The studio, which was located at the second-level parking of Shopwise Cubao, was not visible to the public. ?For any commercial venture to work, visual exposure is necessary. We were working ourselves dry to pay the rent. It was big division on our part to preserve our craft to make it viable,? he said. Nonetheless, having the nomadic existence of renting different studios proved to be beneficial as it cut down administrative problems. The dancers rake in P12,000-P20,000 a month while the junior dancers earn enough school.

Partner

Finding opportunity in crisis, Nierras and his company have been partnering with the Congregacion Immaculati Cordis Maria (CICM) missionaries to help celebrate its centennial in the Philippines. It helps spread the Good Word through fundraising concerts. The proceeds go to the education of future priests in order to revitalize the society?s faith in God.

In an interview with Inquirer, CICM priests revealed society?s alarming loss of faith in religion and the disinterest in priesthood as a career and its role in serving society. Hopefully, through Powerdance?s concerts, an awareness of faith would be rekindled.

Profundity

The ?Panalangin? tour, which has been performed in churches and gymnasiums, has been the company?s biggest achievement. ?Panalangin (Prayer),? an hour-long anthology of Nierras? spiritual choreographies, is a paean to the journey within. Driven by his intense faith in God, Nierras seamlessly fuses classical and contemporary music with evocative movements in modern dance. The works reveal the various emotions from joy to sorrow that man undergoes while searching for Him.

In ?Requiem,? Nierras goes beyond the literal meaning of ?Prayer for the Dead.? The duet reveals how in the light of mortality one faces denial, anger, bargaining and acceptance before coming to terms with the self. ?Tenderness? shows another style of Nierras? work which is characterized by a sculptural quality and suave gestures. Dance becomes a metaphor to kissing the hand of God. Through energetic movements, ?Lux Eterna? is an imagery of how God is powerful light. Set to Basil Valdes? song, ?Salamin ng Buhay? tells you who you are when you see yourself in others. ?Ave Maria? is an ode to the Pieta while ?Coroner?s Report? humanizes the ?Passions of Christ? by using the autopsy of the victim?s body in the hospital as an allegory. It starts paradoxically with the birth of a child in the operating room as the victim is rushed to the emergency room. The autopsy is interpreted through movement as dancers portray the victim?s massacred organs. ?Gloria? is an ecstatic ensemble work of the soul?s ecstatic union with God after a long search.

The company takes a moment to pray before the shows. Consequently, the dance radiates organically from their bodies. ?You can make dance in all subjects, even prayer. It can be done anywhere by anyone,? says Nierras.

?Panalangin? has had a profound effect on dancers and on the audience. Jonnel Cruz, Powerdance?s executive manager, Nierras? business partner and private trainer to the stars, quoted actress Iza Calzado as saying that she spotted the dancers praying at Baclaran church on a Wednesday.

Performed to SRO crowds in churches and stadiums, ?Panalangin? awed the crowd and the CICM with the impact of dance as an expression of faith. ?Students of theology said it was a very effective way of presenting prayer and it sank into their whole being,? says Fr. Romeo Nimez, CICM superior. ?As part of the audience, you are being challenged. You feel that connection between you and God. It pushes you to do something in your life.?

Fr. Pedro Peñaranda, CICM rector, admires the way Nierras suffuses the Filipino character through a Western idiom. ?The power of the dance reflects what lies deep in the hearts of people. When I look at the work of Douglas Nierras, I see that he is trying to dignify the dance. At present our perception of dance is Hollywood-ized. This dancing proclaims God.?

Fr. Eric Villamor, rector of Maryhurst Seminary in Baguio, adds that dance is very effective in translating profound concepts. ?Through dance, you stir the social consciousness of the people. They are being challenged. They are asked ?What now???

Pinoy psyche

For its second round of fundraising outreach programs, Powerdance has added ?Sayaw ng Puso at Kaluluwa.?

?From establishing a spiritual connection in ?Panalangin,? we are bringing connection between people and their responsibility toward each other,? says Nierras.

?Sayaw? features Nierras? classics that focus on socially relevant issues and the Filipino psyche. ?Contemplaciones? questions if expatriate Filipino workers are heroes or victims of circumstances. There are works that parody the Filipino character. ?Ampalaya at Asukal,? with music to Eraserheads? ?Huling El Bimbo,? focuses on how Filipinos pine for love and whine about its repercussions. Using Imelda Papin songs, ?Piling-Piling Pilipino Klasiks? explores the Filipino?s penchant for mush. ?Arurog? satirizes the fan mentality by depicting a maid who acts out her fantasies, influenced by the soap operas, when she spends her day-off in Luneta. The Nierras signature ?Buhay Hapis at Pag-ibig, Ngayon at Kailan Man? is an abstract yet musical rendition of George Canseco?s songs about the complexity of love.

These themes are evoked through Nierras? trademarks of sharp, percussive movements going against the tempo, deep backbends and hinges, difficult partnering acting and dramatic gestures.

Nierras aims to buck the masses? common perception of dance as that of girls growling and grinding their hips in the noontime shows. ?We wanted to show that dance is not necessarily ?non-art? (dance with sexual innuendos) which media has disseminated in the past decades. They cater to an ignorant audience that they want to make more ignorant,? he says.

The choreographer points out dance is not just self-expression but a means to serve a community or a higher purpose. ?At the end of the day, whether the audience saw the purpose or not, they watched a beautiful show and gave something to the Church.?