Our beloved culture clubs are the backbone of the GSWLA community. They reinforce our connections to cultures both similar and different from our own and allow us a safe, diverse, and celebrated student body to form bonds with. While we represent an array of heritage at Tallwood, Filipino Culture Club hosts our only official ethnic dance group.

While they focus on Filipino traditional folk and tribal dances, many of the dancers are not Filipino at all. Brought to the club by friends or mere curiosity, the dancers unify in one main aspect: the celebration and learning of a culture.

TFCC President Kai stated, “Having the Filipino culture club, and especially the dance group, allows people to see that culture can be expressed and learnt. Even if you’re not necessarily of the same culture or ethnicity, you can still be a part of that community.” 

 Not only does TFCC Dance provide such unique learning opportunities for our students, many dancers can agree that the group acts as a family and thus has formed a web of endearing friendship.

“Practices are chaotic, just because of how much people like to talk and play and just be silly with each other,” said Kai.

Like most sports or dance teams, this community has created a wholesome, intimate bond that isn’t seen in most other Tallwood culture clubs. 

 “The dancers are very tight-knit. Everyone kind of cares for each other in a roundabout way, whether it’s helping pick up materials, subbing in when they don’t even know the part, or taking care of someone while they have an injury,” the TFCC president emphasized. “I think that people in the Filipino Culture Club, and especially those that do dance, are some of the some of the warmest, kindest people.”

If the TFCC dancers are one thing, it’s dedicated. Though it may seem like a rather non-demanding extracurricular, there’s no denying the effort shown by the dancers throughout the year. Only a few members joined the group with previous dance experience, and the majority arrived with nothing but a good attitude and a willingness to learn. 

“Working with all the different skill sets, it’s kind of hard to bring everyone together and communicate things in a way that everyone can understand, but it’s also really fun,” The president explained.

The dances learned are usually practiced completely from scratch up until the routines are performed on stage, and this requires weeks on weeks of rehearsal. Every dancer, while learning at their own pace and in their own style, works their hardest to put on a good show and represent Filipino heritage. 

From Tinikling to Salakot, the members practice sacred Filipino dances originating from all over the country, showcasing each and every side of their culture. Earlier this school year, the team performed for both Fil- Fest at Mount Trashmore and Mabuhay Fest, invited to represent Tallwood and the GSWLA.

On April 19th, you can see the group in action at Tallwood’s very own Global Gala, where they’ll be performing an especially captivating Phillipine Moro dance, “Singkil.”