PHILIPPINE FOLK DANCE

WHAT IS DANCE?

Dance is a form of expression of oneself through rhythmic movement

Definition: Folk dance is a form of dance developed by a group of people that reflects the traditional life of the people of a certain country or region. Folk dancing originated in the 18th century to distinguish dance forms of common people from those of the upper classes.

Folk dances, unlike most other dance forms, tend to have no stringent rules, and are sometimes formed spontaneously among groups of people. The steps of folk dances are passed through generations, rarely being changed. Folk dancing is usually associated with social activities, although some folk dances are performed competitively.

Philippine Folk Dance History

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.

Many people especially Filipinos are fond of dances. Our country is very rich in different native dances like Cariñosa, Tinikling, La Jota Banal, La Jota Caviteño, etc. Many of us find it hard to enjoy and get information about dance at the same time. This proposed system would make it possible for us to enjoy and learn different native dances here in the Philippines by means of computerizing it.

Folk Dance, recreational or ceremonial dance performed usually by members of the community to which the dance is traditional. Varying criteria have been used to differentiate folk dance from other kinds of dance: For example, the dancers are said to belong to a certain economic level or come from certain locales; the steps are simple and repeated, so that any member of the community can participate; the dances require no audience; and they are passed down through many generations. Each of these criteria can be contradicted by dances that are indisputably folk dances, and in each of these criteria, folk dance overlaps with other kinds of dance.

During the last few centuries many trends have affected folk dancing. As the spread of industrialization brought rural people into the growing cities, dances related to agricultural activities or to communal rituals gradually lost their meaning. In the changing circumstances of urban life, new dances evolved. Colonization also affected dances-frequently, indigenous forms fused with dances of the colonial powers. In the Philippines, for example, new dances developed when Spanish influenced dancers of traditional native forms and Islamic dance forms and styles.

Mountain or Igorot Dances

Long before the Spaniards, the indigenous people in the mountainous regions had already their folk dances which reflect their worship, their celebrations, their wars and even their everyday lives. Scholars refer to them as mountain dances which consisted of different mountain tribes. When Spaniars came, they called them Igorots.

They dance to appease their ancestors and gods to cure ailments, to insure successful war-mating activities,or to ward off bad luck or natural calamities. They dance to congregate and socialize, for general welfare and recreation, and as an outlet for repressed feeling. They also dance to insure bountiful harvests, favorable weather, and to mark milestones in the cycle of life.

So the dances evolve as they need them to express their feelings, their sadness and their anger.

Muslim and Moro Dances

Mindanao and Sulu were never conquered by Spain. Islam was introduced in the Philippines in the 12th century before the discovery of the islands by Magellan in 1521.

The dances in Muslim however predated the Muslim influence. Like Ipat which was a dance to appease ancestral spirits. Before Islam, the Maguindanaons held the view that diseases are caused by tonong (ancestral spirits).Thus, a folk healer performs the pag-ipat while being possessed by the tinunungan (spirit).

Another is the dance baluang which creates the illusion of an angry monkey, and is always performed by male dancers. The popularity of this dance comes naturally, since the baluang, or monkey, enjoys an affectionate place in Asian folklore.

Singkil was introduced after the 14th century. It was based on the epic legend of Darangan of the Maranao people of Mindanao. It tells of the story of a Muslim Princess, Gandingan who was caught in the middle of a forest during an earthquake caused by the diwatas, or fairies of the forest.

Tribal Dances

The cultural minorities that live in the hills and mountains throughout the Philippine Archipelago considered dances as basic part of their lives. Their Culture and animistic beliefs predated Christianity and Islam. Dances are performed essentially for the gods. As in most ancient cultures, unlike the Muslim tribes in their midst, their dances are nonetheless closely intertwined with ceremonials, rituals and sacrifices.

The only dance that is believed to have evolved during the Spanish colonization is the Talaingod dance which is performed to the beat of four drums by a female, portrays a virgin-mother bathing and cradling her newborn baby, named Liboangan. She supposedly had a dream, or pandamggo, that she was to bear such a child. This concept of a virgin-birth may have been derived from the Catholic faith

 Maria Clara Dances

The history of the Philippines is that of a country constantly melding its culture with that of outsiders, a narrative that is exemplified well by Filipino folk dance history. For example, the 300-year Spanish occupation of the Philippines profoundly influenced folk dancing. The ‘Maria Clara’ style of dance is named after a Spanish-style dress, and its performance includes Spanish footwork with Filipino modifications such as bamboo castanets and Asian fans. Contact with ancient Indian civilization is also evident through Indian-influenced dance, which thrives particularly in the South. Numerous other influences including Muslim and Indonesian can be found throughout the Philippines.

The coming of the Spaniards in the 16th century brought a new influence in Philippine life. A majority of the Filipinos were converted to Roman Catholicism. European cultural ideas spread and the Filipinos adapted and blended to meet the local conditions. 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 are the formal Maria Clara dress and barong tagalog, an embroidered long-sleeve shirt made of pineapple fiber.

  Rural and Barrio

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. The dances developed during the three hundred years of Spanish colonization.

A good example of rural or barrio dances is Sinulog. It is a ceremonial dance performed by the people of San Joaquin, Iloilo, during the feast of San Martin. It originated in a barrio of San Joaquin called Sinugbahan. It was believed that the image of San Martin was found at the edge of a beach, and that it could not be removed until the people dance the Sinulog.

 Maria Clara Dances

The coming of the Spaniards in the 16th century brought a new influence in Philippine life. A majority of the Filipinos were converted to Roman Catholicism. European cultural ideas spread and the Filipinos adapted and blended to meet the local conditions. 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 are the formal Maria Clara dress and barong tagalog, an embroidered long-sleeve shirt made of pineapple fiber.

5 Major Classification of Philippine Folk Dances 

• Cordillera Dances
• Spanish Influenced Dance
• Muslim Dances
• Tribal Dances
• Rural Dances

The term folk dance describes dances that share some or all of the following attributes:

• Dances performed at social functions by people with little or no professional training, often to traditionally based music.
• Dances not generally designed for public performance or the stage, though may be later arranged and set for stage performances.
• Execution dominated by an inherited tradition rather than innovation (though folk traditions change over time)
• New dancers often learn informally by observing others and/or receiving help from others.

More controversially, some people define folk dancing as dancing for which there is no governing body or dancing for which there are no competitive or professional performances.

There are two basic divisions of movement:

Loco motor Movement: Movement through space as one goes from one place to another. All forms of locomotion can be reduced to the following five basic even rhythm steps:


WALK - a simple transfer of body weight from one foot to the other, one foot is in contact with the floor as the other foot swings forward. One walk is usually performed to one beat, a quarter note.
RUN - the speed of the walk is increased, and there is a brief moment when neither foot is in contact with the floor. It is usually recorded as eighth note
HOP - with the weight of the body on one foot spring on that foot and land on the same foot.
LEAP - with the weight of the body on one foot spring on that foot and land on the other foot. e.JUMP - spring up into the air from one or two feet and land on both feet.
SKIP - a combination of a skip and a hop, executed on the same foot. Two skips are completed to one measure. g.SLIDE - a slide and a close, shifting the weight on the close. The slide is longer than the close. Two slides are completed to a measure.
GALOP - a step and a cut with the same foot leading. Two galops to one measure.

Non-locomotor Movement: Axial movements occur in space but do not carry the body through space from one place to another. They are restricted movements, which originate from stationary base (standing, sitting, kneeling or lying) and rotate about its own axis. The movement may take place in the whole body or a part of the body. To twist, stretch, bend, raise, lower, swing, strike, and push are examples of axial movements.

REFERENCE:
http://raizhelle18.tripod.com/thesis/lesson3e.html,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folk_dance
http://philippinesculturalfolkdances.blogspot.com/
http://www.scribd.com/doc/46915620/Philippine-Folk-Dance
http://blog.cathcath.com/philippine-folk-dances-and-other-traditions

“You've gotta dance like there's nobody watching,

Love like you'll never be hurt,

Sing like there's nobody listening,

And live like it's heaven on earth.” 

― William W. Purkey