The short documentary “Gaby” opens with a young Vancouver choreographer fluidly and effortlessly practising urban dance moves in front of a floor-to-ceiling mirror. In a voice-over, Gabrielle Tumaneng describes her artform as “the visual representation of how someone interprets a song”.
“Dance allows people to watch a song unfold and to tell its story and tell itself—its voice,” Tumaneng says in the film. “It brings it to life. That’s exactly what it is.”
“Gaby” captures a breakthrough in the young Filipina Canadian’s emergence on the urban dance scene. With behind-the-scenes footage, director and producer Nija Potton reveals how Tumaneng prepared a troupe of dancers for a stunning visual representation of Rihanna’s “Pon de Replay” at The Main Event dance showcase.
In a Zoom interview with Pancouver, Tumaneng notes that she was “kind of launching myself” with this dance performance at the Rickshaw Theatre on March 22 [2024].
“That was my big step of, ‘Hey, this is me and this is what I have to offer to the world.’ I’m here and I’m not going anywhere,” Tumaneng declares with a laugh.
In releasing the film, she offered a shoutout to the dancers: Charise Chiu, Claire Cabatu, Katrin Usion, Kiana Hammons, Malena Ly, Shantel Ramos, Shayla Phan, and Xzyanah Gonzales.
Tumaneng’s journey into dance began as a child in North Vancouver. She discovered her passion after her mother brought home a video game called Just Dance.
“I became absolutely obsessed any time I would come home from school,” Tumaneng recalls. “The first thing I would do is whip out my Wii console and start playing it consistently.”
Unfortunately, she couldn’t afford a newer version of Just Dance so she started searching for performances on YouTube. She recalls doing this so often that the dances became ingrained in her body.
One day, Tumaneng clicked a link for one of the suggested YouTube videos promoted on the page. This led her to Millennium Dance Complex, a Los Angeles–based studio that teaches hip-hop and other urban styles. She had never seen anything like it.
“I just started binge-watching a bunch of dance classes,” Tumaneng says. “I would try to emulate them…and learn the choreography that they were doing in these classes.”
Tumaneng’s mom took notice and enrolled her daughter in summer camps for short bursts of training. Then in high school, Tumaneng joined her first structured dance training program, Weekend Warriors, which was taught by Eric Malapad.
That’s where she learned the foundations of hip-hop and grooving, which remains a vital aspect of her current dance practice.
Then Tumaneng took a chance by auditioning for Joe Tuliao, creative director of the Illustrative Society. She concedes that Tuliao’s program was more advanced, but she was accepted. Furthermore, it was well worth the effort.
“He taught me literally everything I know and molded me into the dancer I am today,” Tumaneng says.
She credits him for her flowing arm movements that are on display at the beginning of “Gaby”. Later, Tumaneng danced with a competitive all-girls team under the direction of Prince “Nii” Engmann.
Like other young adults, Tumaneng also had to think of a career, so she enrolled in the early childhood education at Capilano University. But around the age of 20, she worried that she was putting herself on the sidelines as a dance artist.
“I am capable, I have these skills, and I am talented,” Tumaneng says. “But I just didn’t believe it. So, I kind of dimmed my own light in a sense.”
However, she couldn’t quell her passion for dance.
Tumaneng eventually decided to go full blast as a choreographer. She began melding hip-hop, jazz, funk, and Afro moves into dramatic and precise original dance works.
“I didn’t want to be on the sidelines anymore.”
Her mom is from Manila and her dad is from Isabela on the northern Philippines island of Luzon. According to Tumaneng, Filipinos are very expressive as a people.
“I think that shines through, like my culture shines through, within the movement that I make. And my personality and my external voice come out,” she explains. “I think my heritage also comes out in that way.”
Moreover, Tumaneng is proud of her Filipino work ethic.
“Filipinos are known for our passion in everything that we do, whether that’s a job or even a hobby,” she adds. “We will put our whole heart into it.”
Nowadays, Tumaneng wants young people to recognize that their background and origins don’t define their potential. She hopes that her choreography and performances show kids of East Asian ancestry that they don’t always have to look upon arts and culture as a little side activity.
“There’s space for us in the industry,” Tumaneng advises. “We can pursue this as a career as well.”
As for future goals, Tumaneng hopes to become a dancer for major music artists and tour with them in front of huge audiences. She realizes that this might require her to move to Los Angeles. Over the longer term, she dreams of creating dance pieces for live stage performances, films, and music videos.
“I want to build myself up first before I can choreograph for the big dogs,” Tumaneng says.
[Editor’s note: This feature was first published on Pancouver.ca.]
By Charlie Smith
