The play “The Dancers” is about a family suffering from poverty because of the cruelty of the father who is supposed to work for his family but is too lazy; complaining about his weak body and the inability to work anymore. He forced his children to work for the family and earn a living. As for the eldest son (Tony), he is a jeepney driver where Mang Tomas gets the money from, but it is just used for liquor and for going in a bar. As for the eldest daughter (Rita), she was forced by Mang Tomas to work as a dancer in a bar for the family and earn some money for him, but surprisingly, at the latter part of the play, Mang Tomas forced her youngest daughter Nenita, a sixteen year old teenager to work for him as a dancer in the bar together with her sister Rita. Their mother (AlingRosa) was not able to stop his husband (Mang Tomas) with his decision but to cry.
The message of the play is timely in the current situation of our country. Many cases of human trafficking were aired on the news and happening in the different areas of the Philippines. Since their father cannot and doesn’t want to work anymore for he considers himself useless, he let his children work for earnings and expenses. Then a situation overrun when Juanito doesn’t want anymore to go with Rita. Elena teased and insulted Juanito which makes the matter worse. They fight and when Elena was scared by Juanito, she ran outside crying. Since nobody accompanies Rita to go at the Salon, Mang Tomas decided to let Nenita go with her sister and work. Tony objects and stops his father but he was hit in face and sent Tony bleeding. When their mother came in from Quiapo church and notices a conversation going on and sees Nenita dressed-up. She doesn’t allow her younger daughter to go to such place and expose to a place where women dance for pleasure and money. But at the end, she has no choice for Juanito is missing and no one will accompany Rita to Salon. At the end the mother