Bayanihan dance troupe to perform in Memphis in May 2012

The famous Bayanihan National Dance Company of the Philippines will be perform in Memphis in May 2012 for the May International Festival 2012 Salute to the Philippines. Members of the troupe will be performing at the 2,400-seat Orpheum Theater, the site of the festival's cultural program, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said. "The Philippines was selected as the honored country by the festival's organizers, besting 19 other countries initially considered by the selection committee," the DFA said. The month-long affair, held in Memphis for the past 35 years, includes educational, commercial and cultural programs. Since it was founded in 1957, the multi-awarded Bayanihan National Dance Company has performed in six continents, 66 countries and 700 cities worldwide. The troupe is the first Filipino group to break into Broadway and the first non-American dance company to perform at the New York State Theater of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. It is also the first Filipino cultural group to perform in Russia and China, first to make an in-depth tour of South America, first Filipino dance company to perform at the World Showcase Millennium Village EPCOT, Disneyworld, Florida, and the only Filipino dance company to receive the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay award for international understanding. - VVP, GMA News