KIM REQUESTO

Kim Requesto (she/they) is a Philippine-born, Mission District-raised cultural worker and interdisciplinary artist specializing in photography, film, and dance. Her practice is deeply informed by 20 years of Philippine folkloric and traditional dance training, alongside nine years of field research with over 14 Indigenous communities in the Philippines.

She has performed with Barangay Dance Company of San Francisco, Kababayan Dance Troupe, and Kularts, and currently serves as an Artistic Lead, Choreographer, and Field Researcher with Parangal Dance Company. In 2021, she produced and directed Yugto, a three-part dance film series that explored the possibilities of Philippine folk dance in the diaspora, inviting artists to co-imagine how movement can honor lived experiences through informed research and cultural storytelling.

In 2022, she founded Pangalay Circle, an organization dedicated to providing accessible and inclusive traditional Philippine dance workshops while fostering connections between cultural practitioners in the diaspora and Indigenous culture bearers in the Philippines. In 2024, Pangalay Circle produced Philippine Dance in the Bay Area, an event centering dialogue on the importance of not only continuing cultural dance practices but also holding space for the nuanced identities of Filipinx Americans.

Most recently, as part of her residency at CounterPulse, she produced Sa Ating Ninuno (To Our Ancestors), an immersive dance production exploring Philippine dance styles and diasporic movement. The work honored ancestral joy through ritual, movement, and collective experiences, highlighting the intergenerational connection between tradition and contemporary practice.

Her commitment to community extends beyond performance. She has taught youth at AYPAL, senior citizens at RETAS, and has worked with local colleges as a PCN choreographer and instructor, guiding students in the staging of Pilipino Cultural Nights (PCNs). Through these programs, she helps bridge generations by fostering cultural connection and storytelling through movement.

She has been awarded grants from the San Francisco Arts Commission, Alliance for California Traditional Arts, Dancers’ Group, and Balay Kreative, has received artist residencies at ODC and CounterPulse, and is currently a Radiate Fellow with RAWdance.

Through ACTA’s Apprenticeship program she has continued to expand her knowledge of Kalinga Dance (2015) and Music (2023) with Kalinga Master Artist, Jenny Bawer Young.

Whether working in traditional, folkloric, or contemporary forms, Requesto approaches her artistic practice with the intention of uplifting Indigenous communities, fostering cultural awareness, and empowering others to recognize the importance of sharing their histories, voices, and lived experiences.