If you want to see something that'll change your life, catch a show by the Quezon City Performing…read moreArts. You have dance performances and music as well, but here's the clincher - these kids are street children. QCPA gets them off the street and grants them a scholarship that puts them in the theater or in the dance studio. Funded by the Quezon City government in hopes they'll pursue careers in the arts, most of these kids come from families that can't afford to send them to school, buy a house, or even feed them regularly. They could have been drug dealers, slaves to physical or sexual abuse, or worse, but this foundation transforms their lives and instead teaches them to play the guitar, to sing, and to pirouette. Through the QCPA Development Foundation, the scholars have led better lives. They have had the chance to travel, study, and earn money to support themselves and their families. Dancing, singing, making music, and creating art becomes their way out of all their hardships. To see them perform onstage and smiling, knowing the past they have, is beautiful. It really shows what a difference art can make to save this country.

If it's iconic architecture that you're looking for in the Philippines, the National Arts Center…read more(NAC) Theater or Tanghalang Maria Makiling is definitely is among them. Designed by National Artist for Architecture Leandro Locsin, this structure, said to be inspired by the Pyramids in Egypt, has been a widely-recognized symbol of the Philippine High School for the Arts, but it's technically not the school's domain anymore. Managed by the Cultural Center of the Philippines (and may be booked through their offices), the NAC Theater is a huge open-air performance venue. It is equipped with state of the art sound and lighting requirements for music, theater, or dance performances; and can accommodate an audience of up to 1,000 guests. Our high school recitals, graduation ceremonies, sportsfests, and other special occasions were held here.

From ballet lessons, watching plays, and hanging out during breaks, to graduating high school,…read moreAssumpta Theatre will always have a special place in my heart. We have performed numerous times on stage before. I made a quick Google search and found this on Yelp. Oh, my childhood, how it flew by. I hope the next coming students find a way to love our home and find that it is their home, too.

This theater is an official satellite venue of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, which is why…read moreit's called the "CCP of the East." It was built and inaugurated in the early 2000s and has since put on many shows and performances both by the local school community and the neighboring communities. I personally have fond memories of playing an Annie orphan, a King & I princess, a stone-faced Singkil fan-dancer, and doing countless chorale shows and ballet recitals in the past, heehee! It's a beautiful theater and visiting theater companies, musical artists, and touring shows have performed here, wonderfully bringing cultural education and exposure over to the folks at the East side of Manila. No need to go all the way downtown! The massive Assumpta is a fully functional performance venue with modern light & sound equipment, a large stage with stage wings and a docking area at the back; there's an orchestra pit, air-conditioned dressing rooms with their own bathrooms, a nice big lobby, and guest comfort rooms. The theater seats over 2,000 guests! It's pretty novel to have this kind of venue on this side of town, so a lot of schools and organizations from around the area have taken it up on its facilities for graduations, their own productions, and other events. You can just call the school to inquire about renting because they're very open for that.

I used to take piano lessons here! That was several years ago, when the school still occupied most…read moreof the building. And my sister's been going to ballet here even before the building had been renovated and the dimly lit ground floor waiting area had a cake shop. Good times. Now, even though Academy One only has one large dance studio left upstairs, a couple of instrument lesson rooms at the back, and a small waiting area in front, they still provide top notch education. They offer jazz, classical and modern ballet, piano, voice, and guitar lessons. It's affiliated with the Australian Conservatory of Ballet and the London-based Royal Academy of Dance so for sure the ballet classes are excellent. (Only complaint is the schedule can be erratic at times - sometimes ending surprisingly early, other times extending for half an hour.) They have an annual recital in CCP at the end of the summer program to showcase the growing talent not just in the dance students, but also those who learn various instruments. I think it's a good way to get kids used to the performance side of performing arts.

For those bitching about how Art should be more accessible to everybody, may I present to you the…read moreTiu Theater. Formerly the old Louie's THX Cinema, the theater has recently been reinvented as an events venue back in 2014, and has hosted a number of concerts, plays, recitals, and performance art pieces. But what sets the Tiu apart from other event venues is how committed it is to making Art more accessible. The management of the Tiu will go out of their way to look for worthy art groups to sponsor. They have even staged a couple of free shows, just to get people more chances to watch these kinds of works. Time will tell if the Tiu can sustain and thrive with this kind of setup, but I'm happy we have such a venue for the arts.

Back in the day, the Tiu Theater used to be Louie's THX, the most high-tech movie theater in Makati…read moreat the time. These days, the Tiu Theater has become an events venue. I had the opportunity to come here for the Luna Art Festival in early 2015, and I loved the intimate, community-like vibe that was present all throughout. Inside the main theater, performers like the Adinkra Lumads group and other ethnic Filipino musicians and dancers performed to a crowd of art enthusiasts, and at some point, people took off their shoes and started dancing in the middle of the aisles! There were also a bunch of merchants outside the theater, selling shirts, food, jewelry and more. The back part of the theater is dimly-lit (adds to the vibe, I think), and has large murals painted on it, cementing the Tiu Theater's position as a haven for artists to showcase their work - be it performance art, visual art, handmade crafts, and more! I always enjoy events that are hosted here because it's always a good time with quality people in attendance.

Avenue Q, RENT, In The Heights, and recently No Filter, have all been staged at Carlos P. Romulo…read moreAuditorium (RCBC Plaza), which should tell you something about the quality of the plays they produce. I mean, Avenue Q was by far the funniest, most uproarious musical I have ever seen in my life! Who knew puppets played by Rachel Alejandro and Felix Rivera could make me bend over so hard from laughter to the point that I was already crying? And No Filter was a breakout play of epic proportions, delivering quick-fire monologues and witty banter with a solid cast, interrogating what it really means to be defined as a millennial. Before I delve too deeply into the awesome-sauce plays they've staged, which are too many to count, I want to say that although the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium might look small and intimate for a theater, it's those qualities precisely that make going to the theater here such a visceral experience, drawing loud reactions from everybody in the audience. Other theaters will make you feel like you need to dress up fancy for the occasion, but the truth about the theater is that it's accessible to everyone and not just rich snooty people. I wish we could clear that misconception in our country.

RCBC's Carlos Romulo Auditorium is an irony in itself to me. It's small, but it has big productions…read moremore often than not. There are countless performances showed here that're actually the big names in Broadway. The most favorite of mine that I've seen here is Rock of Ages Philippines. I've been a fan of the musical way back since I've heard about it. I mean, why wouldn't I be? It's like a musical with 80's stuff! What more could I ask for? Anyway, it wasn't long after Rock of Ages Japan ended their tour (see? I know these useless stuff!), and the 2012 movie trailer was shown in the movie that ROA Philippines was announced to be showing in the Philippines. I almost screeched in public when I've read it online. So I immediately bought front row seats. I think it was the fourth seat to the front? (egh, the seventh and eight row were already taken at that time). I wasn't thinking clearly though, I was so into seeing Mig Ayesa upclose that I forgot that no matter where you are in this theatre, it's still a nice view. I could've saved like a thousand then! Yeah, it's that small. So the next time you are trying to save up and you still want a great show, it doesn't matter where you are here. Oh, and because it's a small theatre, the audience tend to be awkward towards each other because of its intimacy. If you want a total kick-ass show with all the fireworks and dancing and crowdsurfing awesomeness (okay, not really), make sure you get the tickets to the last show. It's usually where all the awesome occurs. Of course those are just my own tips for having nothin' but a good time (See what I did there?). You can always get the best seats at the best convenient schedule to you.

A great venue for puppetry theater and museum. I didn't ask but I'm sure the place can also be…read morerented out for events. I went there to see the yearly show of the Paper Pasyon. Designed for but not limited to kids. I even carried one of the puppets and it is not easy to control or hold for long periods of time so I commend the puppeteers and actors that produced and performed the play. It was a great show and they have been doing it for 33 years. A little bit of shadow play was on there too.

This Hiphop league turned term for a rap battle turned verb (as I often hear some say "Fliptop nga…read morekayo") has obviously made a huge impact on the Filipino consciousness of the conception/misconception of Hiphop and not to mention, Internet entertainment in the Philippines since it went viral online in 2011.The people (the masses) who brought it to a world-wide sensation simply made the latter a fact. Rap battles posted in Fliptop channel on Youtube wouldn't hit more than a million views if it's not entertainment. I have only seen a couple of Fliptop battles online and knew nothing about Hiphop until I had friends from work who are apparently part of the underground Hiphop scene (at least in Metro Manila) educated me a bit. Lucky me, they were also able to get me a free backstage pass to one of the Fliptop Battles in B-side early this year. Yes, the live version of the Filptop battle that we see on Youtube! We reached B-side at around 11:00 pm just when the battles were just starting. A lot of guys dressed in loose t-shirts, baggy pants and Hiphop caps were standing outside the main entrance while big bodied bouncers were at the ticket section, imposing no ticket, no entrance and strict security policy. As I entered, I saw the elevated battle stage where two contenders are already rapping against each other. Huge speakers surrounded the place, and a bar of alcoholic drinks near the back stage entrance quenched the crowd's thirst for "tama". The following battle started and I knew neither of the two contenders, but that didn't come as a problem for me to enjoy a good show, Fliptop was like "sabong" (cockfight) for the sharp-tongued! I didn't expect myself to be cheering "whoa!" with the crowd every time the rappers spitted good punchlines and quotable lines. I even shouted "boo!", when the contender of the rapper I put my bet on, choked. Fliptop battle qualifiers are apparently good battle emcees; they have a fluency in contemporary Tagalog language and advanced techniques in line delivery and witty rebuttals, only that most of their contents are limited to personal attacks. As for the Fliptop production, I was amazed by the minimalist concept of how internet shows can be produced. It's practically a one boom mic, one-cam set up kind of production, and viola! You have a show! I give my respect to Anygma and his team for putting up such a huge community for Filipino Hiphop on the Internet and for being able to reach this community out to the masses. Although there are still misconceptions of Hiphop for them to battle with, I believe that Fliptop can still be an instrument of progress for Filipino Rap and Filipino Hiphop at large.

When it comes to the weird, daring, challenging and uncharted in the world of theater, Sipat Lawin…read morehas made their mark on the top of the chain. Somewhere in the middle of theater, performance art, and everything nice in between, Sipat Lawin takes theater away from the stage and puts it in an unconventional setting. Oftentimes, they break down the 4th wall and include the audience participation in their shows. One of my favorite shows of theirs was Battalia Royale, a theater adaptation of the Hunger-Games-original cult classic Battle Royale. This show was set in the grounds of an abandoned school, so the audience had to weave their way around the venue and run around with the actors. Since it was Battalia Royale, and the action was happening right in front of us, we would get splattered with some blood too making the performance doubly fun and exciting! Attending one performance is definitely an experience. Keep your eyes and ears open for their upcoming shows! :)

Very enjoyable meal, friendly & helpful staff.Awesome food, fab staff, fab wine! Lovely food, my…read morecongratulations to the Chef and the rest of the staff! ambiance was so good.. i really love it food is 1000/10 service is 100/10 ambiance 1000/10

This place is way overpriced and on top of that they have bizarre extra fees too…read more Drinks and food are just ok. Views are nice: basically a rooftop city skyline. But for the high price, the quality, quantity and services are seriously lacking. They also have strange extra-charges. For example if you ask the left-over food boxed they will charge you a substantial fee for that! We had never seen or heard of such policy anywhere else and they don't inform you of such bizarre fee in advance either! The humidity and pollution don't help this place either. Will not go back and don't recommend it.