Felicia Escalona

Felicia Escalona (she/they/siya) has loved to dance since early childhood and practically begged her mother to enroll her in her first ballet class at the age of 5. Since then, they have also enjoyed the thrill of performance. Throughout her childhood she danced ballet, jazz, and modern/urban dance. At the age of 9, she expanded her dancing range to include her Filipino culture and heritage by joining Sampaguita Dance Troupe instructed by Carmen Tomek in Stockton, CA. Later in high school, they would join friends from Sampaguita to create Filipino dance group Mga Anak ng Bayan, completely run by their peers.

While she considers herself lucky to have grown up in Southside Stockton populated with many Filipinos and with a family that gathered regularly with her father’s immigrant community (Santiagenians of the USA), she only had a surface-level understanding of what it meant to be Filipino. Studying at San Francisco State University gave her the opportunity to expand her understanding of the Filipino American experience under amazing teachers like Tito Dan Begonia, Ate/Dr. Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales, and fellow Stocktonian Manang/Dr. Dawn Bohulano Mabalon. After having participated in four Pilipino Cultural Night productions, she lost touch with dance and was less active in the Filipino community for several years.

It wasn't until joining Parangal in 2018, that Felicia was able to get back to two things that brought her so much joy – dancing and working in an organization that benefits the Filipino community. Knowing some of her dearest Sampaguita friends were passionate members of Parangal, made it that much sweeter. Parangal has been a home and family for Felicia to connect and learn more about the peoples and traditions in the Philippines. With Parangal, Felicia has been able to shake off the dust and rust in their dancer's body. She has performed with Parangal at many local performances: San Francisco’s Pistahan, weddings and birthdays, school assemblies, and corporate celebrations of AAPI Heritage or Filipino American History Month. They have been part of four large Parangal productions: Padayon (2018), Paglinang (2023), Ipat A Kadsakay (2024), and Adhika (2025). Parangal has also provided Felicia the opportunity to perform internationally, most recently in the Philippines!

Professionally, Felicia is a Certified Massage Therapist and small business owner of Magsaya Kayo Wellness. She credits Parangal with inspiring her to learn Ablon, a form of manual therapy rooted in Philippine Indigenous Science specifically from her father’s home of Ilokos.