It was a festive afternoon for the art industry as 33 local talents were awarded at the 15th Ani ng Dangal Awards last Feb. 22, 2023 at the Ceremonial Hall of Malacañan Palace.
The Ani ng Dangal or Harvest of Honor is an annual celebration that recognizes homegrown artists who received esteemed international accolades in the categories of Architecture and Allied Arts, Cinema, Dance, Music, Visual Arts, and Broadcast Arts. It serves as the highlight and culmination of the National Arts Month.
Eleven individuals were acknowledged for their impeccable work in Cinema. This includes Dolly De Leon, who won the Best Supporting Performer Award during the 2022 Los Angeles Films Critics Association Awards (LAFCA) for her outstanding performance in “Triangle of Sadness.”
The sole award from Broadcast Arts went to Ramona Diaz for her critically acclaimed social documentary, “A Thousand Cuts.”
Included in the four Dance awardees is TV host and 2022 "Danse avec les stars (Dancing with the Stars France)" champ Billy Crawford.
Apart from seasoned artists, this year’s lineup brought to the fore impressive young talents. Among them is 14-year-old Danikka Louise Dy, Grand Prize winner for Voice at the Rocky Mountain Music Competition Spring Season 2022 in Toronto, Canada. Her exceptional rendition of Jason Robert Brown’s “Christmas Lullaby from Songs for a New World” placed her ahead of all contestants in the Advanced Voice (Junior Category, 13-14 years old). Under the tutelage of Aliw Awardee and soprano Nenen Espina from the age of six, Dy religiously trains for better technique, stamina, and mixed belting voice. She aspires to make it to Broadway like her idol, Lea Salonga.
Another young performer in the 11-man roster is 12-year-old violinist Theodore Julius Chua Tan, who took home First Place in the Judges’ Best Performance Award for the Junior Category (ages 9-12) at the 2022 Vienna Virtuoso Music Competition.
Three artists bagged the Visual Arts Awards, including Albert Emir B. Reyes, whose “Bustling Little Town” was named Grand Prize at the 23rd International High School Arts Festival in Tokyo, Japan.
Meanwhile, four awardees were named in Architecture and Allied Arts, including The Penthouse by Atelier Almario, which received the distinction of Best Residential Interior Apartment at the Asia Pacific Property Awards 2022 in the United Kingdom.
Awardees were handed the Ani ng Dangal trophy, which depicts the vibrant sarimanok by National Artist and sculptor Abdulmari Imao.
For more details about Ani ng Dangal, visit NCCA’s website or Facebook page.