THERE WAS a collective cheer that went up as the lights faded onto the moving bodies onstage ? most, if not all of the dancers recognizable to the audience, composed of dance students, choreographers and aficionados, many of whom had returned for the fourth day of marathon dance presentations at the 4th WiFi Body Independent Contemporary Dance Festival.

This particular number, ?Blueprint,? was co-choreographed and performed by Ballet Philippines 2 alumni, who had re-grouped after some 20 odd years. To see them dance together again, with a renewed air of maturity and confidence, was a joy to behold.

This singular dance piece was, however, just a bonus, a prelude to a surprise awarding ceremony to honor the mentor, the formidably brilliant Agnes Locsin who was left touched and speechless at the copiously worded citation, well-deserved.

Watching the works presented by her former wards Alden Lugnasin, Christine Crame-Santillan, Paul Anthony Morales and Dwight Rodrigazo was proof enough that the fruit doesn?t fall far from the tree.

The first time I saw a Locsin piece in the ?90s, I was awestruck by the number?s all-male cast whose torsos and faces seemed to have come from the same mold: buff, stocky, dark features; strong in built and technique; the choreography devoid of dance cuteisms and intellectualized dance concepts (you know, the angst-filled variety that translates into a writhing floor exercise with melting arm movements).

What I saw was a kind of pure, raw, sweaty dancing that molested the heartbeat, made the jaw drop, and popped the eyes. The piece was ?Moriones,? where the male dancers turned, whirled and jumped on each other?s backs to a very rhythm-contagious soundtrack, leaving the viewer pleasantly exhausted at the end.

Many other pieces followed: ?Igorot,? ?Babaylan,? ?La Revolucion Filipina,? ?Taong Talangka? ? results of Locsin?s explorations into Philippine tribal practices. They served as her inspirations in reworking the boundaries of Western classical techniques into Philippine neo-ethnic movements.

Each work left an unimpeachable neo-ethnic stamp in Philippine dance history, making Locsin the preeminent choreographer of this genre.

Dwight Rodrigazo

One of the notable dancers in the Locsin tribe was Rodrigazo, whose distinct hefty and athletic movements lent the quality to ?Moriones,? which won for Locsin the silver medal and the Prince Takamado Award in the International Choreographers? Concourse in Tokyo.

Rodrigazo has created, along with a variety of single pieces, two full-length ballets, ?Tsukat Yashua? (Passion for Christ) and ?Indios Bravos,? both winning critical acclaim.

Film director Peque Gallaga, a fellow Bacolodian, describes his works as ?very dynamic, very masculine, very Pinoy but global, very sexy. Very, very.?

The same kind of solid earthbound sensuality that characterizes Locsin?s work is found in Rodrigazo?s piece ?Birds for the Mind,? a work divided into four vignettes, each depicting sentiments on Filipino society.

?I wanted to put a human face on these winged creatures,? he says.

The six dancers, with flowing locks (their own!), in migration formation, proceed to flap undulating biceps and triceps reminiscent of sea gulls in flight, and their very movements, despite the obvious masculinity, are peculiarly graceful. One almost forgets that two of the dancers are female.

The flapping of arms is not your usual wing flap. Starting with the body posture, legs in demi plie with feet together, necks thrust forward and faces front, the torso bent forward in flat back, the arm movement seems to start with the shoulder leading, rippling to the forearm, ending in the unfurling of the fingers, led on by the wrist.

Then one ?bird? calls the attention of another (the accurate term would be ?soot-soot,? as in ?psst,? Pinoy-style), and things start to happen as one bird ?soot-soots? at the other.

At some point, the ?birds? alight from their perches and shake out those flowing locks free of their hair ties. With the performers costumed in tight-fitting, short shorts in various colors (pink included, worn by a male), the entire piece is a contrapuntal work of lightness and brawn, inspired, as Rodrigazo explains, by watching the movements of his pet birds.

?The simplicity of the concept was the greatest challenge,? he says.

Noteworthy dancers

Noteworthy also were the performances of Rodrigazo?s two dancers, Nick Tiba and Christopher Chan in ?Navigate,? which they performed in the new choreographer?s competition segment of the festival.

The competition was judged by the audience. Choreographed by Tiba, the moves already had evidences of ?Locsin-ness,? further enhanced by Rodrigazo?s own brand of macho and updated by youthful athletics (like forever head stands).

Although the work did not win the audience vote (maybe except for mine, Chito Vijandre?s and Ricky Toledo?s), the work was nevertheless already an indication of a passing on of Locsin?s DNA.

Wit and savvy characterize Crame-Santillan?s work. A bevy of men in flesh tights are swathed in the hip area with plastic skirts sourced from a laundry shop. Slowly, they make rhythmic noises with the plastic. After some time, the viewer realizes that there will be no music tract to this piece. The piece is titled ?Silence.?

Christine says: ?Since I couldn?t find the right music to inspire me, I decided to create a piece without music. I figured plastic can help create an annoying sound.?

All one hears is the rustling of the plastic, the stamping of feet, and the eventual bursting into song, a cappella, by one of the dancers, Moshe Ponferrada. His voice is full and solid.

Crame-Santillan says Ponferrada has not had any formal voice training. ?By singing in the dormitory as a pastime, his voice developed eventually,? she smiles.

With the help of fellow dancer and friend Georgette Sanchez and Locsin, she solidified the concept into a series of formations and sound patterns made by the plastic and the dancers themselves. It is amusing to see how so much can be pulled out of so little, especially if the ?much? is an expansion of a creative mind like Crame-Santillan?s. The whole shebang is simply pure fun as a result of easy intelligence.

Morales, Lugnasin

For Ballet Philippines? 40th anniversary season, Morales has been appointed artistic director.

?Masterworks? opened the season last month. The repertoire included masterpieces by BP founder and first artistic director Alice Reyes, and also Locsin?s.

A versatile dancer, Lugnasin is now an incredibly inspired choreographer, churning out highly imaginative works mostly for Ballet Philippines. Lugnasin first caught the attention of balletomanes and dance cognoscenti alike with his moving and sensitive portrayal of Apolinario Mabini in Locsin?s ?La Revolucion Filipina.?

It is almost an experience out of left field to view one of Lugnasin?s works, peppered with unexpected movements and brilliant moments.

?Swimming the Ilog Pasig,? a piece presented in the ?90s, is a fine example. Restaged at WiFi, and presented once more in ?Masterworks,? ?Ilog? was performed mostly on a wooden riser of several levels, its backside to the audience.

The dancers, clad in swimsuits, start to move in slow motion to the haunting strains of a John Williams movie theme. Intentional or not, it is clearly an elegy to the once silvery river, now on life support. Every now and then, a dancer or two make an abrupt movement, as the rest slowly flow into yet another body composition.

Ironically, while the dancers contort into position, each ?move? ends in a harmonious tableaux, regardless of the twisted dancers? bodies.

An excellent dancer himself, Lugnasin bears no shame in showing off his dancer?s musculature, whether in large bravura movements, flutters of double-jointed fingers, or miniscule back muscle twitches. He knows the bodies at his disposal and he unabashedly puts them to use.

Watching Locsin?s face crumple in mute joy as the citation on the plaque of recognition was read that afternoon must have given her more than a sense of fulfillment, seeing her ?anaks? producing excellent work, each ensconced in their distinct milieu.

Now based in her home province, Davao, Agnes continues to develop and inspire dancers and choreographers. There is an exciting dance generation ahead.