RECUERDOS

After almost four centuries as a colony of Spain, the country’s music and dance, (particularly in the Luzon and Visayan regions) show traces of European influences. Sometimes a distinctive Filipino touch (use of bamboo castanets, pineapple fabric as veils, straw and rattan hats etc.) lends a strong local flavour to polka, valses, mazurkas and other dances of European origin.

HABANERA
A dance showing strong influence of old Havana, Cuba at its most active galleon trade period.

LA JOTA MANILENA
Named after the old city of Manila, this dance is reminiscent of the Spanish flamenco as alternating slow and fast beats are accompanied by the clicking of elongated bamboo castanets.

LA JOTA CAGAYANA
A lively social dance from Tuguegarao, Cagayan, in the Ibanag region of Northern Philippines.

POLKA SA PLAZA
The town folks celebrate in the town centre

PARADA
Parade of celebration with ribbons at the town plaza.

KUMINTANGA special dance named after the graceful and very distinctive hand-wrist Filipino dance movements

TRIBAL VARIATIONS

Performances depict the cultural contribution of various tribes living in pockets of land in the northern highlands and the southern lowlands of the Philippines. Dancing among these tribal groups is mostly a form of worship and celebration: to ask for rain, to seek deliverance from the plague, funerals, the harvest and many other time-honoured rituals. Dances may also depict simple, daily chores.

DUGSO
A dance from the plains of Bukidnon, Mindanao. With their colourful head-dress and ankle bells, the dancers signal the beginning of a thanksgiving ceremony.

PAGDIWATA
An evening harvest celebration of the Tagbanuas of Palawan.

Among the most colorful dances of the Philippines are the tribal rituals of the different Igorot tribes who live along the Cordillera range in Luzon. Their distinctive dance movements are accompanied by rhythmic beats on drums, wood and metal gongs (ganza). Wind instrument music is produced by bamboo tubes and flutes. Chanting is also a part of many Igorot rituals.

TRIBAL DANCES FROM KALINGA, IFUGAO AND BONTOC GROUPS
The beginning shows a village preparing for a war.

BANGIBANG
A ritual of the Ifugao tribe saying good-bye to a departed warrior. Men hop and jog along in a circle, beating wooden sticks rhythmically, exhorting the body to take its revenge in the hereafter

U-ONGA (Children)
Young children learning tribal rituals from the older men of the tribe.

NUMULIMUL (Circle)
Future warriors learning rituals from the older men of the tribe.

INTAKO MANSASA DO
‘Let’s fetch water’ or the ‘banga’ (clay pot) dance.
Maidens walk briskly up and down steep hills as they balance the pots on their heads.

KAYABANG
On the trip to the lowlands, maidens beat bamboo sticks to drive away unseen evil spirits along the mountain trails.

HAGABI
Stick dance.

PINANYOAN
Igorot wedding cape dance.

T’BOLI
Colorful costumes and dance from the south.

TRIBAL DANCE
A dance performed at sundown.

ULO (Blanket)
A dance portraying the importance of the “blanket of life.”

MUN-ANI / ELA-LAY
“Let us rejoice.” In one of their “canaos” (grandfeasts), tribes may join together to celebrate rice planting and harvesting.

 

MINDANAO

In the far South, the Philippine Muslims of Mindanao withstood hundreds of years of Spanish attempts at conquest and colonization. In the pre-Hispanic era, the ports of Mindanao were active trading posts and the people were in constant touch with their Asian neighbours, thus emerging a culture with Indian, Japanese, Chinese and Arab Influence.

AMU-AMO
A tale of a man and his friendship with monkey, including a mischievous one.

DYANGGAY
A dance named after the long, bronze fingernails worn in various ceremonies by women of Sulu.

YAKAN
A courtship dance of the Yakan group in a prelude to a royal ceremony

MADAL-UNOK
Maidens imitating birds in flight.

KASANGUAYAN
Young ladies portraying the artistry of the Maranaws with the use of fans.

KAPA-MALONG
A dance exploring the varied ways of wearing the “malong,” a tubular piece of outer garment which men and women could use, among others, as a skirt, pants, bag, a head-dress, or a sleeping-blanket.

TAHING BAILA
A ritual of the nomadic Badjao sea gypsies for guidance during a fishing expedition.

PANGALITAWO
Two chiefs leading a ceremonial dance in homage to the bounties of nature.

BINAKBAK
Giant frogs noisily frolic in the evening awaking a man.

SINGKIL
From the Maranao epic “Darangan,” and sometimes called the “Mindanao Bamboo Dance,” it is perhaps the most popular dance from that region. It tells of a Princess and her party caught in an earthquake while out in the forest. A Prince comes along, and in spite of the initial hostility between him and the maiden, he eventually saves the Princess and her retinue.

“Singkil” are the brass anklets worn by the Princess. A special feature of this dances is the way the Princess sends her feelings through the movements of her fans (“apir”).

PISTA

A pista (from the Spanish “fiesta,”) is traditionally held in honor of a patron saint, but it may also be an occasion to celebrate good harvest or to commemorate a civic holiday. The event is an occasion for family reunions, meeting new friends and renewing old acquaintances. Dances depict life reminiscent of the simpler times in the rural areas. Collectively known as the “rural dances,” traces of western influence are quite evident.

ANKLUNG
Bamboo musical instruments. These hand-carried instruments are also called “Talogtog,” which means making music by shaking.

As bamboos abound in the Philippines, people se their ingenuity to add more to its usefulness. As with the bamboo band (the “musikong bumbong”) and the Las Pinas bamboo organ, the angklung is a form of serial instrumentation involving several participants shaking the instruments to produce specific notes. The continuity of the melody depends on the ability of the players to follow the sequence and shake the instruments at the proper times.

TAYO NA
An invitation to join a parade during the “fiesta.”

OBANDO
From Obando, Bulcan, a dance in honour of the Santa Clara.

PUKOL
A dance from Aklan, where the men show their agility to impress the women.

LUBI-LUBI
Popular in the Visayan and Bicol regions, it is an old tradition of song and dance paying tribute and depicting the importance of the fan all year round.

SUBLI
A skip-and-run dance from the province of the Batangas, it got its name from the two Tagalog words, “subsub,” (to stop) and “bali” (to bend). The origins date back to the town folks dancing in honor of the Holy Cross during the month of May.

SAMBALILO
A flirtation dance in which men and women play with hats.

PANDANGGO SA ILAW
A “dance of the lights” from Mindoro, performers skillfully balance lighted glasses (to depict oil lamps) on their heads, hands and the back of their palms.

WASIWAS
Fireflies dancing in the dark.

MAGLALATIK
The plantation workers from Laguna in their moments of relaxation beat coconut shells to fast and varied rhythms.

ITIK ITIK
An imitation of ducklings.

SAKUTING
A Chinese influenced dance depicting the martial arts by the use of the sticks.

ABARURAY
A dance of skill where both the men and women dance while balancing a glass filled with wine.

BULAKLAKAN
A homage to nature as performers dance with arches festooned with flowers.

BINASUAN
Maidens balance wine-filled glasses on their heads and hands while dancing, sitting, spinning and rolling on the floor.

SALAKOT
A dance named after the wide-brimmed hat used for rainy and hot seasons.

TINIKLING
The world renowned folk dance of the Philippines, showing not only the skill, agility and grace but also the frolicsome nature of the Filipinos. Dancers dart in and out of fast-clapping bamboo poles in imitation of long-legged rice birds called the “tikling” (heron) playfully eluding the farmer’s bamboo traps.