Feeling good

Homegrown talent received a big boost in the victory of the shadow play troupe El Gamma Penumbra at the popular regional talent competition “Asia’s Got Talent” (AGT) held in Singapore. The victory was sweet because the troupe not merely displayed great skill but also delivered potent messages on such issues as war and peace and the urgency of conserving and protecting nature.

“It’s like a dream, we can’t believe it. It’s so overwhelming,” said El Gamma Penumbra spokesperson Marvin Marfa upon returning victorious to the motherland. Indeed. The road to success has been a long one for the 13-member troupe bearing a name that means “the ray of light or shadow.”

They started out break-dancing, competing in dance derbies in their native Tanauan, Batangas, in 2010. Eventually they realized that they needed a unique gimmick or idea to make them stand out against other dance groups. They found it on YouTube, and learned to do it on their own beyond what they saw on the Internet. “Shadow play is a lot more difficult [than hip-hop dancing],” Marfa said. “When someone makes a mistake on stage, his shadow reflects it. Even a single misplaced hair strand is visible.” Geared with the gimmick, honed on hard work, they joined the local AGT franchise “Pilipinas Got Talent” (PGT) in 2011—and bagged fourth place.

As reported by the Inquirer, El Gamma Penumbra’s appearance on PGT paved the way for invited appearances at corporate events. They grabbed every chance to strut their stuff, once more proving that perseverance makes things happen. And thrift, too. They pooled their earnings to cover their expenses and divided the rest among themselves. And they found an admirable way to “balance off” their budding fame: helping out a home for the elderly, Santa Ana-San Joaquin Bahay Ampunan, in Tanauan.

The troupe blazed a trail through the competition in Singapore, beguiling judges with their shadow dancing and stunning audiences with the deep messages in their performances. And just to show that Pilipinas truly got talent, half of the acts in the AGT grand finals were from the Philippines and no slouch themselves: Classical singer Gerphil Flores (who emerged second runner-up), 10-year-old singer Gwyneth Dorado and dance group Junior New System. The other grand finalists were from China, Japan and Mongolia. It’s noteworthy that the first runner-up, the Mongolian group Khusugtun, performed the ancient art of throat singing complete with traditional instruments and costumes. If AGT manages to provide a venue for the propagation of culture and tradition, then long may it live, no matter that it draws such a crazy bag of “talents” including rump banana-peelers!

In the end, El Gamma Penumbra wowed everyone with a poignant performance set to the song “Colors of the Wind.” It depicted the ways humans destroy the planet, as well as the urgency of protecting it. “[You showed] your awareness of how important Mother Nature is,” the Indonesian singer Anggun, one of the judges, told the troupe. “Our job as entertainers [is] to entertain people. But if we can raise awareness on the subject that really matters, that makes our job more noble.”

The winners were chosen based on votes from all over Asia using SMS, Facebook, or the AGT mobile app. So was it just a glorified popularity contest—a hakot exercise, perhaps? Not quite. “Each participating country is represented equally in voting,” the competition’s website states.

The new toast of Asia received $100,000 (P4.4 million), the opportunity to perform at Singapore’s famous Marina Bay Sands hotel, and $10,000 worth of flights to Asian cities. They say they will use part of the money to start small businesses for their families, and to open their own dance studio in Tanauan (they used to rent space for their reputed 12-hour-a-day practice sessions). And, still grounded, still down-to-earth, they are also donating part of their prize to the victims of the terrible earthquake in Nepal and, of course, to their beloved Santa Ana-San Joaquin Bahay Ampunan.

“This isn’t just the victory of [the troupe], but also of all Filipinos in all parts of the world,” Marfa said. Right on. Their moment has left Filipinos feeling good.