A Promise We Dance For
Abstract
“Everybody, stretch and bend!”
“Sir? I’m tired! We’ve been practicing ‘stretch and bend’ for two weeks now!”
“Jireh, this is for the upcoming Culture and Arts Fest. Exciting, right? Come on! Stretch and bend!”
“Oh, I don’t understand, Sir Michael. Honoring? Heritage? Treasure? Is this a thesis title?”
That’s Jireh, a BPED first-year modern student with sharp eyes always glued to her phone, messy hair, and always questioning tradition, along with everything else.
“Emphasize those hips! Jireh, just focus and sway properly!”
“Ugh! I hate this folk dance! Why should I exert effort? It won’t go viral—too boring! All I gained was muscle pain. No extra grade, no allowance increase! Tell me, why should I care? Can’t we just do a TikTok dance instead? That would earn millions of views in my reels! My followers would love it for sure! Right, classmates?”
She looked around, expecting everyone to agree with her. Now… there was no one. The room suddenly fell into darkness.
“You should care, child.”
She trembled but composed herself, as if confident.
“Excuse me, who are you? Who’s there? A judge? A coach? The spirit of the grading system?”
“I am Twinkle. Not a judge, not a coach, not a terror college professor. I am the voice of your culture. And yes, I have been watching.”
“I’ve been struggling! Imagine traveling from Rotonda just to master ‘stretch and bend’ for two weeks straight. No excitement at all!” While she was explaining, she didn’t realize that she had already met the Spirit of Culture.
“Tell me, child, why do you laugh at tradition?”
“Laugh? No, I’m just confused! Why wear old costumes when my OOTD is already trending? Why dance steps from the past when TikTok updates so fast? Look at this! See? Culture is… slow.”
“Slow? Child, your dances came from your roots, from gratitude and survival. Slow does not mean weak. Slow means deep.”
“So you mean when I dance during the festival, I’m not just sweating for nothing?”
“Yes, my child. You sweat for history, for identity, for the future watching you. This festival is not a show. It is a promise.”
She paused, staring at the dark room. “Maybe that’s the problem,” she whispered. “Trends make me famous for a moment, but culture makes me part of something bigger. Now I fully understand, Twinkle. This is not just a costume. Not just a competition. Not just ordinary attendance. It is every university declaring: we remember who we are!”
That’s right! A legacy of pride, because a university that forgets its culture may produce graduates, but never roots.
“Fine! I will stay and dance. But… can I have one request? Free snacks, please?”
The room filled with exchanged laughter.
“Come on, everybody! Stretch and bend—from the top!”
“This is it! This is not just a festival. This is the Culture and Arts Festival.”
