Signature features works that have the respective dance artist's undeniable stamp - dance with a highly personal artistic vision.

Publicity and promotions for Signature is provided in part by The Lemon Circle Event Management and Consultancy (thelemoncircle@ yahoo.com) .

In celebration of performance venue Dance Forum’s instrumental role in defining independent dance practice in the Philippines, “Signature” will be staged there on Nov. 17 and 18.

To be showcased are contemporary dance artists Myra Beltran and Paul Morales in signature pieces as well as the works of the winners of the recently concluded Wi_fi Body Festival's New Choreographers Competition, the first choreography competition for the solo-duet form in the Philippines.

An alternative, intimate and open-air performance venue, Dance Forum was founded by Beltran in 1995. She is a leading figure in Philippine independent dance, conceptualizing and leading the World Dance Alliance-Philippine s Choreographers' Network in the groundbreaking Contemporary Dance Map Series and the Wi_fi Body Festival at the Cultural Center of the Philippines that has supported choreographers and dancers in the independent contemporary dance scene in the Philippines.

“Ten years ago, Dance Forum opened publicly,” said Beltran. “At that time, independent dance practice in the Philippines necessarily had to be contemporary in approach and aesthetic. The direction has subsequently developed in many branching streams, but the idea of the solo dance, and all its political implications in the history of dance, is an important step in any ground-breaking dance movement. We want to celebrate and commemorate that idea all over again.”

Working through the birthing pains of establishing the idea of “solo artist” or “solo dance,” Beltran has successfully laid the foundations for the understanding and appreciation for this performing art form. “Now I can proudly say that the idea stands on solid ground and that, as a matter of fact, it is a privilege to do solo dance work,” she said. “This ‘rebellion,’ this ‘signature’ is what we want to celebrate – a celebration of the spirit that opened up Dance Forum to house independent contemporary dance, with a new generation of artists carrying on the practice.”

Poster design by Otto Hernandez