HISTORY:

The Mutya Philippine Dance Company was formed in April of 1990 in response to several forces. Young Filipino Americans wanted to understand their roots. They wanted a place where they felt others could understand their struggles and values while being able to feel comfortable in their own skin. Parents of these children also wanted an organization that could really teach the beauty and diversity of the Filipino culture through music and dance.

Mission:

2025 marks the dance company's 35th anniversary. Over the 35 years we have been in existence, our art form has touched countless lives. Mutya’s mission is to preserve, develop, teach, and share Filipino Cultural Heritage, Art, Folklore, and other indigenous cultural traditions through its Dances, Music, and Songs with the purpose of instilling Filipino pride amongst its youth.

Our Artistic Director

Rey Borres is the Artistic Director and Co-Founder of the Mutya Philippine Dance Company where he works to preserve and teach Filipino culture and pride through folk dances and music to multiple generations of Filipino-Americans in the Delaware Valley for more than 25 years. Trained under National Artist of the Philippines Ramon Obusan since he was 14 years old, Rey honed his talents to become lead dancer and eventually Dance Master of the Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group. Willing to teach and share his talents, he was designated as Mutya Philippine Dance Company's Dance Director and Choreographer at the time of the organization's founding with Virginia Luz.

Rey's commitment to passing on traditions and heritage is now multi-generational, as some of his first student dancers in Mutya now have kids of their own whom he is instructing in the numerous Filipino Folk Dances from different regions of the Philippines. Always on the hunt for new dance techniques and stories to tell, one can often find Tito Rey constantly observing and guiding refinement of the expressions of Filipino heritage and practices across the Delaware Valley.