Folk Dance in Popular Culture Midterm Lesson PDF

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Folk Dance History in the PhilippinesIn the Philippines, folk dance is a strong and enduring indigenous expression.Folk dances are important because they preserve the Philippine culture and pass it on to the next generation. They are a uniting force to the Philippine people.Philippine folk dancing i...

Description

Folk Dance History in the Philippines In the Philippines, folk dance is a strong and enduring indigenous expression. Folk dances are important because they preserve the Philippine culture and pass it on to the next generation. They are a uniting force to the Philippine people. Philippine folk dancing is a true reflection of daily life in past centuries while enchanting modern audiences at the same time. ... The dances were performed during festivals and remembrances of past military victories, and still are performed at celebrations of births and weddings in modern times. Pre-Colonial Before the recorded history of the Philippines, before the Spanish conquistadors conquered and Christianized the populace, from the earliest occupation of this volcanic archipelago, the people danced. They danced to appease the gods, to curry favor from powerful spirits, to celebrate a hunt or harvest, to mimic the exotic life forms around them. They danced their stories and their shamanic rituals, their rites of passage and their remembered legends and history. 

Tinikling: Birds Dancing Over Bamboo

Perhaps the best-known dance in Philippine folk dance history, the Tinikling mimics the high-stepping strut of birds in the Philippine jungles over the bamboo traps the hunters would set for them. Two dancers, usually male and female, gracefully step in and out of crossed sets of bamboo poles being moved together and apart to the music. 

Gaway-Gaway

Gaway-gaway is a harvest dance that celebrates the bountiful harvest of the gaway--a plant of the taro family that is grown both for the vegetable and its roots. The female dancer hold a nigo (bilao in Tagalog) laden as she dances. The music is a fast 3/8 melody and the steps are simple but beautiful. This particular dance came from the town of Jaro in Leyte Province, where planting the gaway is the predominant occupation of the barrio folks. 

The pagan tribes, the Higaonon, Subanon, Bagogo, and others who have inhabited the Philippines for thousands of years, preserved their customs and symbolic dances. Partly through isolation, they kept their culture free from the influence of the waves of immigrants who settled the archipelago over the centuries

Spanish Colonization Folk dances survived the European invasion, and the dancers adapted imposed Christian belief and culture to their own dances, borrowing court choreography but imbuing it with Philippine spirit. The Maria Clara dances merged Spanish court style (and its stylized courtship conventions) with Philippine exuberance. Maria Clara is the pure and noble heroine of a novel who represents the finest qualities of Filipino womanhood. The dancers wear European 16th-century dress but move to the sounds of bamboo castanets. 

Maglalatik: The Dance of War

A dance from before the conversion of the Philippines to Christianity is called the Maglalatik. It represents a fierce battle between the Moro tribesmen (wearing red trousers) and the Christian soldiers from Spain (wearing blue). Both groups wear harnesses with coconut shells attached tightly to their bodies which are struck repeatedly with other shells held in the hands. 

Pandanggo sa Ilaw: Grace and Balance

Derived from the Spanish word fandango, this dance is one of several designed to show off the grace, balance, and dexterity of the performers. Three glasses of wine (or, in modern times, water) are held in hands and on top of the dancers' heads as they move, never spilling a drop. Characteristics of Philippine Folk Dances 

In general, dancers stand apart.

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There is little, if anybody contract.

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Most of the dances are done by pairs or couples.

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Hand movements play an important part.

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Most dances are in long formation.

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Most dances begin and end with “saludo”.

12 Most Popular Philippine Folk Dances When talking about dance in the Philippines, we can’t help but think of the classic Filipino folk dance that put the country on the world map. Here’s a list of folk dances in the Philippines you should know if you want to learn more about the country’s culture. 1. Tinikling – A Philippine folk dance that originated in Leyte 2. Itik-Itik – A cultural dance in the Philippines that originated in Surigao del Sur...