“Dance, when you are broken. Dance, if you’ve torn the bandage off. Dance in the middle of the fighting. Dance in your blood. Dance when you’re perfectly free.”   RUMI

Alvin Erasga Tolentino , native from Guimaras, Iloilo started young at 17 to dance and professionally choreographed at 21. His exposure to dance started  in the Philippines doing folk dancing interpreting local devotion to deities, livelihood like farming and fishing, heroism and peoples’ struggles.

When asked if he has danced through pain and aches, “ I tore an ankle ligament during a 16-minute dance—had 10 more minutes to go,  I just kept going- show must go on. I kept(sic) the pain,” said Alvin

After the dance I screamed at the dressing room in pain my foot was blue and had to be rushed to emergency.”  He added

He has been in the Vancouver and International Dance scene for the last 3 decades. He founded Co. ERASGA in 2000 and has danced and choreographed dances for other artists too.

Alvin is a product of York University’s Dance Program. He is an alumnus of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. He also took further studies in New York at Sunny Purchase, Limon Institute. His techniques and body of works have been influenced by contemporary dance artists like Martha Graham, Jose Limon and Merce Cunningham.

Alvin metamorphosed into contemporary and modern dance in BC. His Co. ERASGA is participating in Dance in Vancouver(DIV) which is slated at the Scotiabank Dance Centre in Downtown Vancouver November 22-25, 2017.

His “Tracing Malong” is being showcased together with Aeriosa, Julienne Chapelle, Lesley Telford/Inverso, Karen Jamieson and Margaret Grenier, Wen Wei Dance, Ziyian Kuan/ dumb instrument Dance, Shay Kuebler/ Radical System Art and more in Dance in Vancouver.

This is a biennial presentation at the Scotia Dance Centre promoting BC. This is when dance promoters and scouts are busy spotting raw talents with potential.

He has been a dance force in the Vancouver dance scene for 3 decades interpreting, creating and contributing  contemporary dance for Vancouver. Some of his works include:  SOLA, Bato/Stone, Orientik/ Portrait, Field, Paradise/ Paradis, ADAMEVE-Man/Woman, Shadow Machine, Expose and recently Colonial to name a few.

Alvin’s body of works reflects his interpretations of identity, gender, inter-culturalism and cross-cultural collaboration that have spawned touring shows in four continents. He has performed in over 50 cities including some like in France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Philippines, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Thailand, Uruguay and across Canada.

In 2010, Alvin received the Vancouver’s Mayor Arts Award for his contribution the the performing arts in Dance.