Legato Visual Performing Arts
LEGATO is a collection of modern circus practitioners from Manila, Philippines brought together by their strong passion towards juggling and object manipulation. Legato focuses on bringing out aesthetically pleasing performances and visuals of object manipulation with the aim to evolve the art form even further.
A BRIEF HISTORY
Legato Visual Performing Arts was founded by Alvin Lopez, An object manipulator from Manila and is also one of the Pioneer practitioners of Contact Juggling in Manila. He has travelled around the world indulging himself into the craft and along the way, has shared his strong passion towards the art form. Together with the poi enthusiast Victor Belo and contemporary dancer Nemrel Aquino, they formed the group with the intent of pushing the limit of the art form further in the Philippines.
Since its establishment last November 2015, Legato has performed unique pieces and choreography for a wide variety of both local and international stages. The group offers a wide range of modern circus acts such as contemporary juggling acts, programmed LED light dances and mind bending illusionary object manipulation.
VISION
Our vision and motives are to present and share next level and aesthetically pleasing performances to a fresh audience and inspire new generations to explore object manipulation not just as a skill but as movement and creative expression.
Edwin Ong
The founder of the company, Edwin Ong, found the love of Circus Arts since the age of 14. Initially enticed by the prospects of owning a bag of cool tricks, Edwin’s juggling practice is now more focused on developing and infusing physical comedy into his performances. He has performed on a variety of stages, from theater to gala shows at various circus festivals around South East Asia. In this way, he finds the possibility of learning, sharing and nourishing his act through the contact with audiences and artists of different forms, sizes and styles. He is also currently one half of a street busking act, ‘The Annoying Brothers’. Edwin seeks to delight audiences with slapstick moments and numerous audience participation inspired by daily happenings.
Edwin also conduct circus workshops to youth in mainstream schools and special schools. He has also perform and give outreach programs in Thailand, Philippines and Malaysia.
For more details on Edwin, please visit: www.cityofentertainers.sg
Ruby Phonngo
An expert on 3 poi spinning, Ruby has mastered his skills from endless hours of practice and performance on the beautiful islands of Phi Phi, near Phuket.
Yuta Poi
One of the world’s most popular (and much-loved) poi spinners, it truly will be a treat to have him perform and teach workshops at our upcoming Philippine Flow Fest 2017. He’ll be performing his most famous 2005 “Endangered Species” soundtracked piece, so if you’re a fan of that video, you mustn’t miss this chance to catch Yuta LIVE!
EBC Academy
AcademyEBC Academy is the first official Capoeira school in Manila, Philippines. With Brazilian teachers from the main school in Brasilia, Brazil, the school teaches capoeira in its fullest form: its history, philosophy, and the Brazilian culture in which it was cultivated.
It is a mixture of body and soul, of dance and fight, of instruments and voices. According to its history, Capoeira was created by imported Africans on Brazilian soil. It evolved as means of expression of the yearning for freedom and simultaneously as a form of entertainment.
For more details about EBC, please visit: www.ebcphilippines.com.
Hanz Pastor
Hanz Pastor is the pioneering Buugeng artist in the Philippines. He has been mastering the art of Buugeng spinning since 2013. He is a passionate and self-trained flow artist who indulges in growing his skills and technique through a committed and progressive individual practice. He holds a central role in the recognition and appreciation of Flow and Fire Arts here in the Philippines.
Hanz has spent the first two years into his practice in the music and arts industry performing locally for nationally renowned World Music tribe, Adinkra Lumads Djembe Community, as a Buugeng artist, fire dancer and percussionist. He has graced the stages of various festivals and events far and wide teaching him to adapt to a constantly changing environment.
As a visionary artist who relies solely on his intuitive capacities to continuously create original and profound pieces, Hanz aims to offer a completely visceral and exhilarating performance as he shifts every attempt into an intense effort to transcend the normal limits of the human body, embodying the true essence of a Warrior.
He hopes to spread an appreciation for the Buugeng through giving it an identity of its own, treating it as more than just a prop and personalizing it as a dance of desire, a meditation in movement and a spiritually liberating art form.
Hanz is a full-time, professional Buugeng artist and fire dancer. He trains up to 6 hours a day. For more details on Hanz, please visit: www.facebook.com/hanzpastorperformanceart
Jay Firecat
Beginning his journey into the art of spinning over 15 years ago, Jay specializes in and further developed advanced techniques of CONTACT Fire Stick and ISOLATION with Fire Poi (or Fire Chain). He has established a reputation in the International Juggling industry as a professional performance artist and skilled teacher for beginners to advanced master classes.
A Teacher for over 10 years in many fire disciplines as contact staff, poi, double staff, Jay has specialized for the past 5 years in Buugeng. Focusing on manipulation (S curve staffs), and developing body awareness with objects workshops, pushing the use of the body around the object by synchronizing them both, learning how to step and turn with any props, and using any object as the extension of the body.
He has taught workshops at the European Juggling Conventions 2004, 2005, 2011, 2013, UBER Paris International Fire spinning Convention 2007, Spinfest 2010, Objectify 2012, Fire Drums 2013, Turkish national circus convention 2014, and in many other countries (Thailand, France, Switzerland, Slovenia, England, Spain, Australia, America, India, Indonesia, Japan…). Jay also co-organized & facilitated workshops at the Indian Juggling Convention, from 2008 to 2012, and has organized the well known PIRATES RETREAT and BALIPLAY for the past 5 years. Some of his innovative talents can be viewed in the COL 5 and COL 9 DVD, from Home of Poi, and a lot of youtube videos and tutorials on the kamaraticreations channel.
In addition to teaching and organizing events, Jay also still loves the stage and performs around the world, including shows in the Middle East and Asia, BOOM Fest and Burning Man, as well as touring with the US based band Rising Appalachia.
For more details, please visit: www.kamaraticreations.yolasite.com
Gail O’Brien
Gail O’Brien has taught and performed in a global capacity for the last 8 years. Winning Instructor of the year awards from Hooping.org and Flow Arts Institute in 2015 and performing at many international festivals, corporate events and cabarets including European Juggling Convention gala show.
Gail has trained at Greentop Circus School, Belfast Circus School and with top level professional teachers around the world. She is a dynamic contemporary hoop performer. She loves to break down movement patterns giving her a unique edge in teaching workshops and classes.
For more details about Gail, please visit: https://www.youtube.com/user/HoopSpin1
Sweet Caneos
TEMPEST, also known as Sweet Caneos, is a Manila-bred professional dance artist who weaves her stories through improvised or choreographed numbers tooled by an array of props to come together in an astounding tapestry of fire, light and movement. She teaches the developing art of hoopdance – a new, dynamic fitness program which is a unique blend of rigorous technique and deep introspection.”
Daniel Darwin
Filipino-American Daniel Darwin aka: ASTROBOY is a largely self-taught fire hula-hooper who first learned this flow/movement art in Paris, France in 2008.
He then became part of The Gyronauts, a New York City-based performing troupe before moving back to Manila in 2011, where he started teaching hooping in partnership with Planet Zips, which led to the growth of the local hooping subculture.
His most notable hooping achievement was becoming the grand champion of TV show Talentadong Pinoy back in 2012. He continues to perform for corporate gigs, festivals and other artist collaborations.
Ehrlich Ocampo
“Ehrlich “Firechill” Ocampo has been dancing since 2005 and spinning poi since 2010, continuously exploring the fusion of flow circles and dance lines. Early 2013, he discovered the magical art of levitation wand. He has since been exploring a flowful style of spinning the wand which enables a freer expression with the body thru dance and performance. Currently, Ehrlich “Firechill” Ocampo is one of the leading innovators and forerunners of the art of the levitation wand in the performance and entertainment arena. He has also been training hoop dance and manipulation, hand balancing, aerial hoops and the cyr wheel.
Aside from performing, he has also been conducting movement workshops as well as choreography and performance workshops to enable more artists to explore a wider range of movements and allow his/her style to manifest more with the body, allowing the artist to translate his/her flow into a performance. He is also a performance artist, creating pieces that speak deeply to the human soul rather than to merely entertain.
He has travelled and been invited to numerous events in Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, USA and France – where he represented his art and his country in the 37th Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain in Paris.
For more details about Ehrlich, please visit: http://www.firechill.ph
PHILIPPINE FLOW FEST 