Junior Kingsley Ugoji is a member of the Filipino Cultural Association at Towson, also known as FCAT. Although he isn’t Filipino himself, Ugoji said that he was welcomed into the group with open arms.

Ugoji has been steadily practicing different Filipino dances for the last two months: the Tinikling, the Maglalatik, the Pandanggo and the Jota, and has learned even more about the Filipino culture. Now it will all pay off, as his newly found cultural knowledge will be showcased at FCAT’s 6th annual event “Pinagmulan: Beginnings.”

In addition to Ugoji’s performance, FCAT will be performing a variety of other dances to go along with their theme of the four prominent influential Filipinos: Jose Rizal, Corazon Aquino, Andres Bonifacio and Lapu Lapu.

“There is expected to be a large turnout for the show because word has been circulating for quite some time,” Ugoji said.

Individually, each dance will have its own unique personality and flair.

“The Tinikling dance contains bamboo sticks that you must click together and jump over,” Ugoji said.  “It takes finesse.”

The Maglalatik dance is mainly for men, and symbolizes a Filipino tribal dance that expresses aggression.

“All the men have to wear coconut bras,” Ugoji said.  “It’s really funny, I get a kick out of it.”

One of FCAT’s 40 members, Ugoji decided to join this semester because he said he liked their vibe and felt it was an awesome way to spend his free time.

Along with Towson’s FCAT, American University, Catholic University, University of Maryland at College Park, George Mason, George Washington and Johns Hopkins, are all part of what is known as “Division Six.”  D6 is a partnership between all of these colleges to interact and plan events for FCAT.

D6 had a Filipino Conference this past semester in Philadelphia.