SAMAHAN Arts teaches and performs Filipino folk dance and music rooted in rigorous research and the lived experiences of communities across the Philippines. Our cultural programs, classes, and performances are conceived and led by the Creative Team — the company’s seasoned dancers and musicians — working closely in collaboration with the Board of Directors to ensure artistic integrity and cultural respect. As part of SAMAHAN Arts’ ongoing professional development, the team completed an intensive two-week Cultural Research Trip in the Philippines in Spring 2025, deepening their knowledge, relationships, and creative practice.
Our Services
Music & Dance Classes
SAMAHAN Arts holds Filipino folk-dance classes for children, starting at age 6, teens and adults. New students are accepted year-round and are welcome to sit in to any of our classes free of charge before enrolling. Students may perform for Samahan’s main productions, such as annual concerts and festival.
Individualized or private Filipino music lessons are offered to those who are interested to learn how to play gong music, the Kulintang, and/or the 14-string instrument called Bandurria.
Classes begin at $40 monthly fee per student with a one time registration fee of $30. Please click the link below for further inquiries!
Live Performances for Booking
SAMAHAN Arts has three performing groups, the Philippine Dance Company, the Rondalla and the Pakaraguian Kulintang Ensemble. Any or all of these performing groups combined, are readily available to provide a 10-minute to a 2-hour long presentation for any event to include music and dances from different regions of the Philippines. Setlist is determined by the specific event to ensure that you get the best possible experience from our company and Philippine culture.
Workshops
SAMAHAN Arts offers cultural workshops to various schools colleges and universities. Topics of expertise are Dances and Gong Music (Kulintang) of the Maguindanao, Maranao and Tausug indigenous societies of the Southern Philippines, as well as Rondalla Music and Dances of Spanish Influence and of the Philippine’s Country Side.
Filipino folk dances and music portray the people’s rich culture and enduring traditions, whose diversity reflects the influences of many races — including Chinese, Indian, Indonesian, Malay, Spanish, and American — who arrived and settled in the islands as migrants, traders, or colonizers throughout the long history of the Philippines.