Kinding Sindaw, the New York-based Filipino dance theater company known for preserving the indigenous arts of Mindanao, will perform at U.S. Open Fan Week on Monday, Aug. 24, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
The free performance is scheduled from 1:30 to 2 p.m. at the Fountain Plaza Stage in Mets-Willets Point. It will feature traditional dance from Mindanao, followed by an interactive segment inviting audience participation.
The appearance places a Filipino cultural tradition within one of the country’s largest annual tennis events. U.S. Open Fan Week includes player practices, qualifying-tournament matches, on-court activities and family programming ahead of the main tournament.
Kinding Sindaw was founded in 1992 by Potri Ranka Manis, a Meranao Bai Labi, or female leader, and a tradition and culture bearer. The company is composed of indigenous tradition bearers, Filipino American artists and educators. Its name combines kinding, referring to graceful movement or dance, and sindaw, meaning light or to spark a light.
The organization uses dance, kulintang music, martial arts, storytelling and oral traditions to preserve and share the histories and cultures of indigenous peoples of Mindanao in the southern Philippines. It is a resident company of La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in Manhattan.
Kinding Sindaw’s work includes traditions associated with Meranao, Maguindanao, T’boli, Tausug and other communities. Through public performances, dance dramas, workshops and educational programs, the organization introduces audiences to artistic forms that have often been underrepresented in mainstream depictions of Filipino culture.
The group has performed at venues including Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, La MaMa, Riverside Church and colleges throughout New York City. Its productions have explored oral history, ancestral memory, healing, ritual and the relationships among culture, land and community.
Kinding Sindaw was recognized by The Outstanding Filipino Awards in the Arts and Culture category in 2014. The company was among the cultural groups that later performed at TOFA’s 12th annual ceremony at The Town Hall in New York City.
The Fan Week appearance follows a busy summer for the ensemble, which also participated in the Queensboro Dance Festival. Kinding Sindaw continues to offer dance and kulintang classes at La MaMa Galleria, where participants learn about the movements, music and cultural traditions of Mindanao.
For the company, the U.S. Open performance offers an opportunity to introduce visitors from around the world to the living cultures of Mindanao—not simply as entertainment, but as heritage carried through movement, music and story.
