Dimples Romana is a talented actress and television personality who has been a part of the entertainment industry for the past 26 years. She first rose to fame after being a part of the Star Circle Batch 4 launched by ABS-CBN Star Magic in March 1997. Over the years, she has made a name for herself as a versatile actress, hosting several television shows and events.
Apart from her acting and hosting career, Dimples is an entrepreneur, motivational speaker, and personal branding coach/consultant. She is a member of the prestigious International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (iEmmys) and a juror member of the Asian Academy Awards Singapore.
Dimples has also been associated with numerous well-known brands, having endorsed products such as Lady’s Choice from Unilever, Mang Inasal, Fortima and Solmux for Kids from Unilab, DutchMill, CocaCola, CDO Foods, Mega Mackerel of Mega Global Foods, and many others. Her popularity and influence in the industry have made her one of the most sought-after endorsers in the Philippines.
Karla Puno Garcia was recently named one of Dance Magazine's 2024 '25 to Watch.' She was the First woman of color to choreograph the Tony Awards. Her work is seen in the 76th Annual Ceremony in the Opening Number and the Tribute to Joel Grey and John Kander. As a proud Filipina-American artist, she is excited to tell NEW stories where all perspectives are seen and exist naturally. Karla emphasizes musicality as a story-telling device and unapologetic individuality to create worlds and bring characters to life.
Karla is co-choreographer of the new Broadway show Days of Wine and Roses, which premiered in January. Simultaneously, she choreographed the new Jason Robert Brown musical The Connector playing off-Broadway at MCC Theatre. Her work can also be seen on Season 3 of the Starz Network series Power Book III: Raising Kanaan and in the Netflix film Tick, Tick … BOOM! (additional scenes), directed by Lin Manuel Miranda. Other credits include ENCORES Off-Center production of GONE MISSING; the world premiere of Other World at Delaware Theatre Company; Somewhere at the Geva Theatre; Duncan Sheik and Kyle Jarrow’s Noir at the Alley Theatre, and IN THE HEIGHTS at VA Rep, where she received the Artsie for Best Choreography.
Karla began her training in a suburb of Maryland outside of DC under Fran Peters. She also performed Traditional Filipino Dancing with the Pilipino American Cultural Arts Society. Her first professional job was Debbie Allen’s BROTHERS OF THE KNIGHT at the Kennedy Center. She received her BFA in Dance and minor in journalism from NYU’s Tisch School, where she worked closely with Kyle Abraham, Bridget Moore, and Dwight Rhoden. She went on to perform in two National Tours, FOX’s So You Think You Can Dance, NBC’s Smash, several films, and four Broadway shows, including HAMILTON. While there, she created numerous works for Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDS. In 2016, she directed and choreographed the first-place-winning piece representing Hamilton entitled “America,” and in 2019 she choreographed the show stopping “Lot of Livin' To Do” for Broadway Backwards starring Ariana Debose.
Karla is currently on faculty at Broadway Dance Center and Steps on Broadway.
IG @Karlapunogarcia
Karla's connecting theme for her workshops is "Dancing the Narrative: Exploring Musicality in Storytelling"
Day One- Part One and Two
"Creating your own atmosphere/emotion through instrumental music"
- Students will begin by learning different dance combinations to instrumental music and discuss how different types of music and sounds can inspire vocabulary and tone. They will then move on to exploring how composition of more bodies in space can affect this atmosphere. (Movement is primarily jazz based with a funk sensibility)
Day Two- Part One and Two
"How to make musicality build and progress in an organic way."
- The workshop begins with analyzing subtleties in musicality and then moves on to exploring how this can build into a bigger feeling and statement. (Movement is primarily jazz based with a funk sensibility)
Madeleine studied dance in her hometown Oslo before starting her contemporary dance career with Hofesh Shechter company in the UK, touring the world with the pieces Sun, Political Mother and Orphee et Eurydice at the e. In 2015, she started working with Gecko Theatre and has been involved in 3 creations with them.
Alongside this, she is active as a freelance dancer in Norway and Europe, collaborating and working with several different artists and companies such as Cie Alias, Yaniv Cohen and Alexander Montgomery-Andersen.
Dan was a formative member of StopGAP Dance Company before moving on to work with such artists as Wendy Houstoun, Nigel Charnock, Stan Wont Dance, 5 Men Dancing, Slung Low Theatre, Protein Dance, Sweetshop Revolution, Seven Sisters Group and Freddie Opoku-Addaie amongst others. He was a collaborating artist on UNDER directed by Portuguese artist Miguel Moreira (Utero) and features in the award-winning short film You, directed by Graham Clayton Chance. Dan joined Gecko for The Time Of Your Life, broadcast live on BBC4.
As a maker, he has created Semi Detached, Precariously, Sweetest Things and the duet Jacket Dance. He is currently working on a new duet, Largely Unsung. Dan has also created work for StopGAP, Flight Effect and Them Two Dance. In 2012 Dan was the Choreographic Assistant on the Universal/Working Title movie of the musical Les Misérables. More recently he was choreographic assistant on Dancehall (CAST) and co-choreographer for The National Commemoration of the Battle Of The Somme in Manchester, choreographing a cast of over 350 volunteers and professionals to perform to an audience of 19,000 people.
Gecko is an award-winning, internationally acclaimed physical theatre company based in the UK, but working with international artists to devise original performances. Gecko's current production, Kin, was commissioned by the UK National Theatre, and explores themes of racism, family, migration, and home. The Gecko identity is based on a deep interest in human beings and their extraordinary and challenging journeys to express feelings and emotions in society. Their work is made by and for people from a multitude of cultures in an attempt to represent everyone, regardless of age, gender and background. They use multiple languages in their work and tell universal stories through movement and emotion, sound and lighting, which makes them uniquely placed to work with international school students.
Dan and Maddy will deliver the following workshops, which focus on introducing Gecko devising methods to students:
Workshop 1- Getting Ready to Create (Preparation for devising)
Workshop 2- Breath as a creative tool
Workshop 3- Physicalizing emotion
Workshop 4- Extraordinary World building
Ga Fallarme is a Manila-based projection and video designer with a diverse body of work ranging from theatrical productions and concerts to advertising and corporate events and large scale video installations. His work has been featured throughout Asia, Australia, London, and the United States.
Notable stage productions include: Anak Datu (Tanghalang Pilipino); Lapulapu: Ang Datu ng Mactan (NCCA-MET); The Band’s Visit, Angels in America Part One: Millennium Approaches, Matilda the Musical, Fun Home, The Bridges of Madison County, Saturday Night Fever (Atlantis Theatricals); Heto na! Musikal nAPO!, Disney’s Newsies, American Idiot, The Last 5 Years (9Works Theatricals); Ang Huling El Bimbo, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Annie, South Pacific in Concert (Fullhouse/RWM); A Doll’s House Part 2, Tribes, Time Stands Still (Red Turnip Theater); The Horse and His Boy, The Bluebird of Happiness (Trumpets); Mabining Mandirigma, Aurelio Sedisyoso (Tanghalang Pilipino); Dance Until You Shatter Yourself (Green Glass Door); Rock of Ages, Ghost, Carrie, Avenue Q, Doubt, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast – Manila and Singapore (Atlantis Productions);
Dance: Martin Lawrance’s Romeo + Juliet, Lisa Macuja-Elizalde’s Sleeping Beauty, Martin Lawrance’s REBEL (Ballet Manila); Swan Lake, Awitin Mo at Isasayaw Ko, Paul Morales’ Simoun (Ballet Philippines).
Large scale, outdoor projection installations include Nuvali’s 2023 and 2022 editions of the Fountain of Lights (large-scale fountain projections), ArtFair PH’s 10 Days of Art in 2019–projecting on the iconic fountain of The Peninsula Manila (The Birth of Venus), foliage projection at the La Mesa Waterpark for Malasimbo 2020 (Blue Eye/s), Ayala’s 2019 Festival of Lights in the Ayala Triangle.
In 2011, he designed projections for A Fire in the Soul (A Cantata) directed by Peque Gallaga, produced by De La Salle University for its centennial Celebration.
In 2022, he designed for the sold-out reunion concert of the Eraserheads – Huling El Bimbo – at the SMDC Concert Grounds. He also designed for the Dubai Expo show of the Filipino Folk-Rock band, Ben&Ben. He has also worked on shows for concert artists such as The Tenors of Rock (Manila/Las Vegas), Lea Salonga, Regine Velasquez, Sharon Cuneta, Sarah Geronimo, Anne Curtis, Celeste Legaspi, Martin Nievera, Ogie Alcasid, Christian Bautista, Ice Seguerra, et. al.
He has also worked on two anniversary Galas for CCP – the 45th Anniversary Gala, Musikal! A Musical Theater Celebration and the 50th, Bulawan; and worked on largescale projection mapping powered by Panasonic at the CCP Facade for the closing of the 50th Anniversary entitled Sinag 2020.
He was nominated for a 2023 Gawad Buhay award (the Philippine theater industry’s award-giving body) for Video and Projection Design for his work in Anak Datu. He is slated to collaborate on two new original Filipino musicals in 2024.
www.gafallarme.com
Joyce Garcia is a video artist who explores the intersection of traditional art forms, new media, and emerging technologies. With a keen interest in film, visual arts and creative programming, Joyce aims to create immersive experiences that investigate the interaction between humans and technology.
Raymond "Baha" Vergara is a seasoned stage and production manager and show director for theater and live events. He graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Theater Arts from the University of the Philippines-Diliman. He has extensive experience in providing creative solutions for performing arts and live events. Currently a part-time faculty member at Meridian International College, Thames International School Inc., and Guang Ming College.
TJ Ramos has sound designed/engineered and composed/directed music for productions of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Tanghalang Pilipino, Ballet Philippines, Repertory Philippines, PETA, Dulaang UP, Philippine High School for the Arts, De La Salle – College of St. Benilde to name a few. He is a 4-time Outstanding Sound Design winner at the Gawad Buhay: PHILSTAGE Awards for the Performing Arts for Encantada (Ballet Philippines) in 2011, Stageshow (Tanghalang Pilipino) in 2012, Der Kauffman (Tanghalang Pilipino) in 2013, Mabining Mandirigma (Tanghalang Pilipino) in 2016. He also won Outstanding Musical Direction at the 2020 Gawad Buhay Awards for Lam-ang (Tanghalang Pilipino). Last year, he was the head sound designer of THE Virgin Labfest 18, HITIK among other projects. He also sound designed TP's run of ANG PAG-UUSIG, ANAK DATU and SANDOSENANG SAPATOS.
He is currently teaching at Meridian International College (Department of Theater Arts) and Centro Escolar University (Conservatory of Music). He is forever grateful to his mentors: Mr. Jed Balsamo for music, and Mr. Jethro Joaquin for sound design.
WORKSHOP ONE: Running the Show – A Workshop Activity on Cueing Technicals for Performances (Facilitator: Baha Vergara & GA Fallarme) In this stage management session, the participant will learn show calling and collaborating with members of the creative and technical teams - a skill that every stage manager should master!
WORKSHOP TWO: Show Visualization- A session on creating a visual language for a performance. (Facilitator: GA Fallarme & Joyce Garcia) Participants will have to choose a musical/performance and use online tools to create a mood board that will define the visual language of the show they have chosen.
WORKSHOP TWO: Aural Exploration (Facilitator: TJ Ramos) What is sound/ambiance? How does sound affect narrative/flow of story telling? Creating ambient sounds to explore these ideas.
WORKSHOP TWO: Surface Building and Mapping (Facilitator: Joyce Garcia) Participants will select a scene from a performance/show and build set pieces/surfaces from cardboard pieces / lego bricks and attempt to map out scenes on the surfaces.