Agnes Locsin's dance-work 'Moriones', 1991.

The boys of Teatro Balangaw group created in 2009, "Moryonan" a dance-drama interpretation of the local Moriones tradition that depicts the legend of Longinus, the Roman soldier who pierced the side of Jesus on the Cross. They were village boys from barangays Bognuyan, Poblacion and Bacong-Bacong in Gasan, Marinduque. The dance, an offshoot of an earlier 2002 Teatro work directed by this blogger with selected students of Bangbang National High School and Marinduque Midwest College, was part of the Viva Marinduque-Philippine Arts Festival Project (above photo).

But there's a 1991 choreographic work by Agnes Locsin of Ballet Philippines.

Agnes Locsin, one of the most progressive dance choreographers in the country, used the Moriones of Marinduque as inspiration for her choreographic work, "Moriones" that earned for her the silver medal and the Prince Takamado Award in the 1991 International Choreographer's Concourse in Tokyo. Locsin's Moriones was described as a piece "where the male dancers turned, whirled and jumped on each other’s backs to a very rhythm-contagious soundtrack, leaving the viewer pleasantly exhausted at the end". I have mentioned her work in an earlier article about a similar work by Katilau in 2010.

I have never seen Locsin's work until today when I came across this newly posted YouTube video, "Moriones. Ballet Philippines", and am glad that through the Internet, Locsin has now shared her famous work with the rest of the world.

Inspired by the Moriones Festival of Marinduque, Locsin's Moriones was choreographed for Ballet Philippines 2's participation at the Recontres Festival Du Danse in La Baule, France. It was also a study for movement for the Guardias Civil dance for Encantada. 

World Premier: July 1991, Manila
Music by Philip Glass
Choreography by Agnes Locsin
Lighting Design by Katsch Catoy
Costume and Mask Design by Conrad Dy-Liaco