Vicente Sotto Lecture 2024 October
“Slay That Move: Tourism and Rehabilitation of the Dancing Inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention Rehabilitation Center, Philippines”
Mr. Emmanuele Jones Mante
ABSTRACT OF THE LECTURE:
This research is a descriptive analysis of the dancing inmates in Cebu City, Philippines, particularly at the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC). The CPDRC gained prominence by bringing together a group of maximum-security inmates through choreographed dance with the goal of achieving global recognition. The study focuses on the implications of tourism and its relationship to the glamorization of the dancing inmates (ideology) in performance rehabilitation. The research delves into how these shows open avenues for community mobilization through the commercialization of live and recorded performances. Also, it explores how performance is shaped as a commodity to cater to the mass market, aligning with the demands of prevailing norms of mediatized trends and spectacles, such as TikTok and YouTube. This study aligns with existing research on applied theatre in incarceration and criminal justice, which explores the benefits of theatre as a method of rehabilitation. Simultaneously, it delves into the discussion of the ‘dark side’ of performance rehabilitation. The primary methodologies employed in this study involve gathering document sources and conducting online interviews discussing the Cebu dancing inmates. Specific details are narrowed down using sources like Dr. Lorenzo J. Perillo’s “I Was Not in Prison, I Would Not Be Famous: Discipline, Choreography, and Mimicry in the Philippines,” which addresses the dancing inmates in Cebu.
Date: October 26, 2024
Category: Vicente Sotto Lecture Series