Filipino American Student Association attends 'The Battle of the Bamboo'

Posted to On Campus by Jimmy Hibsch at 8:10 p.m., Feb. 21, 2011

Over the weekend, members of the Filipino American Student Association traveled to the University of Illinois – Chicago for "The Battle of the Bamboo," a cultural dance competition.

"Watching all of the teams perform traditional Filipino dances was entertaining, exciting and made me proud to be Filipino," President Vanessa Mancao said.

A team from Loyola University – Chicago won the competition, and Northside Prepatory High School came in second. This was the first time a high school has placed in the competition.

"I was so happy to see that even high school students were interested in learning about the old folk dances," Mancao said. "It's uncommon to hear of these types of dance competitions happening, especially in the Midwest."

An MU team did not compete, but Mancao said it might happen in the future.

"It inspired us to try to get a team to compete in the future," Mancao said. "All of the dances were spectacular. I hope Mizzou can bring a dance team to compete in the coming years."

The above video is the winning team's performance.