Hiyas Philippine Folk Dance Company

I write this review not only as a recipient of this service but also as part of its family. Granted, I am not a dancer/​performer in this group and I receive no money from the group. In fact I have a unique viewpoint because I am not of Filipino decent but I do appreciate the Filipino culture and what is has to share in our society especially having served in the military along side Filipinos and being the great-​great nephew of a Bataan Death March Survivor. I am in awe of the great and continuing sacrifice of Filipinos and their contributions to our society. It does not matter so much my personal inner experience but my experience watching this dance group perform and open the eyes of Filipinos and Non-​Filpinos alike to a culture they might otherwise have never known about. In this way Hiyas Philippine Dance Group has given me purpose and happiness. Happiness being the operative word here.
I find it difficult to believe that someone who makes their living at organizing events such as weddings and have been at this profession for so long a time would not have an idea of happiness. I was always taught that weddings were special occasions not only celebrating the past but also the future and the reinforce that the union was a blessing from God. Weddings are a chance to give thanks to God and share a special time with family and friends.
I would be remiss if I did not point out that Kathryn portrays the wedding guests as victims saying the dance troupe were «divas». An interesting choice of words. The root of «diva» is deity/​god. I have been watching Hiyas for several years now and I don’t get any sense of this being true. The performers of Hiyas go to school and work on top of performing out of love for Filipino Folk Dance and sacrifice their time and effort to do this. This does not suggest any sense of superiority in my view. Perhaps it was the introduction of Mr. Mambaje that upset some of the guests. I don’t see introductions as being that pretentious. In reality, it humanizes the dance troupe because these are working Americans who are struggling to make their way in the world just like the rest of us.
Weddings were never intended as showing off and being greater than God. That is, being without the capacity for forgiveness, and believing that with money you can purchase the license to treat people however you wish them to be treated. If the dancers choose to bring along their siblings and parents then that is their choice and they are aware of the great responsibility in representing the Hiyas Dance Group as are the performers themselves. The wedding party did not purchase Ravenswood Park outright. They purchased the privilege for a limited time to have a wedding and have guests and performers. Ravenswood Park is indeed a historic property but was set aside for use by the public for special occasions. It was not intended for a venue for class warfare –to say certain people do not deserve to be on the property regardless of if they could actually afford to reserve it is a troubling notion to say the least.
The family members of dancers always show the utmost respect and never intrude into the wedding until after the performance, if at all. At this wedding, the guests had had their fill of food. There was plenty of food to share. Sharing– another basic human concept. Feeding the performers did not affect any of the regular guests from eating and there was still leftover food that was thrown out at the conclusion of this event.
The particular event in question was a Filipino wedding. I am sure the guests of the wedding could understand how important family is especially to the Filipino culture. I sincerely regret that the future clients of Kathryn would procure the services for someone who is ignorant of multiple cultural viewpoints. You should not hire someone who is not accepting and tolerant of cultural values of any group especially a major group in Northern California who lives with honor and integrity more than most people in our society.
I would encourage you to plan your event on including a positive and encouraging dance team with 8 years of success that shows no signs of slowing down. Hiyas is your go-​to group for events in your life from weddings, birthdays, and cultural events and is well worth your time and effort. You can be assured that you will be treated in a professional and courteous manner. In my experience I have found Mr. Bado to be a man of integrity and peace. Mistakes and miscues do happen but I see no reason why an upstanding member in society should seek to destroy an honorable group with what seldomly if ever occurs. With temperance and a sense of maturity as being part of this Californian community I believe that Hiyas will make your event special even if you do not fall into the Filipino category.

If I could give this business negative 5 stars (–5), I would. I have never worked with a bigger group of divas, the biggest being the main contact and owner, Jeff Bado.
Having a background in professional event management, I have dealt with hundreds of vendors for special events — both corporate and social. In terms of booking the group, Jeff is very accommodating. However, don’t even ALLOW your search for an entertainment vendor for your event to get that far.
I have quite a few gripes about his group, here are the big ones (from a planner’s perspective):
1. LATE. They were supposed to start promptly at 4:15, but weren’t ready to start until 4:45 because people in their ensemble hadn’t arrived, even though they informed us they would be an hour early.
2. Unprofessional. As a part of the contract, they required meals for their dancers. As per the timeline, their group was to break and eat AFTER performance, not before. A few of the dancers tried to hit up the buffet upon arrival! Seriously?! You’re not guests, you don’t eat guest food. We had to tell them no. When they did break after, all performers helped themselves to the buffet, but so did some of the performers’ families! I couldn’t believe that they felt comfortable enough to invite their parents/​siblings that came along to eat as well.
3. NOT WORTH THE MONEY. For a 20 member ensemble performing one 10 minute set and a second 18 minute set, they charge close to $ 1,000.00. Absolutely outrageous! On contract, they even attempt to secure 100% payment PRIOR to delivering services. DO NOT DO THIS. Have it amended to say that you’ll pay 50% upon delivery of service. Otherwise, these people will come to your event and do whatever they please however they see fit because they already have your $.
4. DID I MENTION UNPROFESSIONAL?!
We booked the group for a wedding in Livermore on a historic property. It was an outdoor garden wedding and set-​up/​tear down of musicians and entertainment is highly visible to guests if they come after guests have already arrived. A few of the dancers tried to park their vehicles (1 being an obnoxiously colored motorcycle) closer to the property so they didn’t have to walk farther. When we asked them who they were, they’d respond with a huffy «UM…I’m one of the dancers!!» Who cares, move you’re vehicle, you’re not the bride! When they were leaving, the owner, Jeff, straight drove his mini van on to the property obstructing our waitstaff food service flow from the kitchen to the buffet. After I kindly asked him to move (granted, this is AFTER his crew of 20 and some of their families had enjoyed our buffet) had the nerve to yell at me and say, «I need to load my things, is that okay with you!!!» UM, you have 20 people plus their families. CARRY YOUR CRAP TO THE PARKING LOT!
5. HIGH MAINTENANCE DIVAS. From the expense, mandating meals, mandating shaded performance outside, mandating that the out door surface on which they were to perform was not going to be rough on the feet… dealing with Jeff & his demands was extremely cumbersome. After our DJ introduced the group, Jeff took the mic and went on a bragging rant of how long the dance school has been around and that his choreographer’s 2^nd degree is in chemistry… I had to motion him to shutup and start performing already. You’re already starting 30 minutes late, get on with it. Dude… the wedding is NOT ABOUT YOU!
I wouldn’t NEVER recommend this group to anyone that wants to have quality entertainment at their special event. This diva group isn’t worth their weight in beans.