Introduction to Philippine Folk

Dance
• Filipino folk dance history is not the history of a single national dance of
one or two regions. Dances evolved from different regions which are distinct
from one another as they are affected by the religion and culture.
• In the Philippines, dance is as diverse as the culture intermingling in the
archipelago. It encompasses all the dance forms that have been used by the
Filipinos through the centuries to express themselves.
• This dazzling diversity of dances in different forms and dynamics grew out
of the times, situations, and experiences of the people and the exposure to the
varied cultures and traditions introduced by the waves of colonial rule that
have reached the Philippine shores.
 Brief Development of Philippine
Folk Dance
1. Pre-Colonial Period- Dances during this period were considered by
some historians, anthropologists, and researchers as dance in its
purest form because this particular dance form has not been
refined, developed, trained, or guided by an artist. To the early
Filipinos, dance was an expression of community life that
animates the various rituals and ceremonies
 Classification
• Ethnic dance (or Indigenous dance)- found among the ethnolinguistic
groups scattered all over the Philippine islands who have not been
substantially Westernized. The mountain regions of Northern
Luzon house dances that continues to be an expression of
community life that animates the various rituals and ceremonies.
Sometimes, these dances are called Cordillera dances.
• Cordillera is a name given by the Spanish Conquistadors when they
first saw the mountain ranges. Meaning "knotted rope", the
Spanish term refers to the jumbled rolls and dips of this long- range
traversing the northern part of Luzon Island. One dance coming from
this area is called Bang
• "Banga" literally mean pots. The Banga or pot
dance is a performance of
Kalinga of the Mountain Province in the
Philippines. This dance illustrates the languid
grace of a tribe otherwise known as fierce
warriors. Heavy earthen pots, as many as
seven or eight at a time, are balanced on the
heads of maidens as they trudge to the beat
of the "gangsa" or wind chimes displaying
their stamina and strength as they go about
their daily task of fetching water and balancing
the banga
• Another ethnic dance found in southern Philippines (also known as Muslim
dance) is called Singkil. Like their brothers from central and northern
Philippines, Filipinos in the South are avid lovers of dance. The dances,
particularly of the Maguindanao, the Maranao, and the Tausug, are largely
ceremonial and are often accompanied by percussion instruments such as
gongs and drums.
• Singkil is usually in the repertory of most Filipino dance troupes. There are many
interpretations of this dance. In 1958 the Bayanihan Dance troupe started with a simple
version and has since developed it into a theatrical and stylized spectacle to the point
of its becoming the troupe's signature piece.
• According to Maranao legend, the Singkil derives its name from the feat of a certain
Princess Gandingan. While she was walking in the forest, diwatas (fairies) caused the
earth to quake and shake the trees and rocks; Princess Gandingan, however, skipped
nimbly from one place to another so that her feet did not touch the fallen trees and
rocks. Originally, in Singkil (Maranao word for "getting a leg or foot entangled in an
object") a solo female performer danced in and out of crisscrossed bamboo poles,
keeping time to the syncopation of the poles, at the same time manipulating two fans
(apir). The dance had no music other than the beating of the poles and had a moderate
and static rhythm
• Spanish Colonial Period- Exposed for almost four centuries to the
influence of European dances, the Filipinos gradually assimilated the
dances of the Spaniards, evolving their own simplified versions and
derivations of the different forms with each region adding its own
touches.
• The elegance of the body and arm movements of foreign dances
fascinated the Filipinos, so they adopted these. However, the sharp
and fast movements of most European dances were tempered and
softened by the languid grace that is characteristic of many Filipino
dances.
 Classification

• Maria Clara dance (or Western Influenced dance)- These dances

reached their zenith in popularity around the turn of the century,
particularly among urban Filipinos. They are so named in honor of
the legendary Maria Clara, who remains a symbol of the virtues and
nobility of the Filipina woman. Maria Clara was the chief female
character of Jose Rizal's Noli Me Tangere. Displaying a very strong
Spanish influence, these dances were, nonetheless, "Filipinized" as
evidence of the use of bamboo castanets and the abanico, or Asian
fan. Typical attire for these dances is the formal Maria Clara dress
and barong tagalog, an embroidered long-sleeve shirt made of
pineapple fiber.
An example of a Maria Clara dance is Cariñosa. The dance
originated in Panay Island in the Visayan Islands and was
introduced by the Spaniards during their colonization of the
Philippines. It is related to some of the Spanish dances like the
bolero and the Mexican dance Jarabe Tapatio or the Mexican
Hat Dance.
According to the book of Francisca Reyes-Aquino, Philippine
Folk Dances, Volume 2, there is a different version of the dance
in the region of Bicol. In the Bicol Region Carinosa, hide and
seek movement is different ways.
In the original version, the dancers used the Fan and
handkerchief as the way to do the hide and seek movement, in
Bicol they used two handkerchiefs holding the two corners of the
handkerchief and doing the hide and seek movement as they
point their foot forward and their hands go upward together with
their handkerchiefs following the movement.
3. American Colonial Period- In dance, America made its presence felt
in the Philippines through “bodabil” dancing, a term which
comes from the French “voix de ville”--- street songs, which was
dancing in the variety show which consisted mainly of popular and
theatrical dances from the U.S.A. but later included Philippine folk
dances and choreographies among its production number
 Classification

• Rural dance (or Countryside dance)- Perhaps the best known and
closest to the Filipino heart are the dances from the rural
Christian lowlands: a country blessed with so much beauty. To the
Filipinos, these dances illustrate the fiesta spirit and demonstrate
a love of life. They express a joy in work, a love for music, and
pleasure in the simplicities of life. Typical attire in the Rural Suite
include the colorful balintawak and patadyong skirts for the
women, and camisa de chino and colored trousers for the men.
• This is a popular folk dance that
originated in Bayambang,
Pangasinan. The word “binasuan”
means “with the use of drinking
glasses.” The dancers balance
glasses on their heads and in their
hands as they move. The glasses
are filled with rice wine, which
makes any misstep a messy
mistake. People dance binasuan at
weddings and festivals
• The Tinikling is the official national dance of the Philippines and one of
the oldest dances in the archipelago. It is characterized by the
movements of one or more dancers between two bamboo poles while
these are beaten in a certain rhythm against each other and onto the
ground.

• The Tinikling is an indigenous folk dance whose origin lies on the island
of Leyte. The name refers to a bird that is known in the Philippines as
Tikling, a term that is commonly used for a whole range of Squacco
species. The dance as we know it today is inspired by the bird’s showy
gait when it struts through the grass with its long stilts and the way it
runs through branches or dodges bamboo traps set up by rice farmers.
Video Liink
• https://youtu.be/8SqZRQWC6AQ - Tinikling
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08eXrO9s4Nk. - Banga
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7d2LVHba_So - Singkil

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VO5VAwEEDMA Bayanihan 11
min. show