Dances
Dances
Dances
Roca
Grade 12 - STEM
Dance - the movement of the body in a rhythmic way, usually to music and within
a given space, for the purpose of expressing an idea or emotion, releasing energy,
or simply taking delight in the movement itself.
History
The history of Philippine folk dancing incorporates influences from immigrants and
conquerors while at the same time maintaining distinctly Filipino roots. Philippine folk
dancing is a true reflection of daily life in past centuries while enchanting modern
audiences at the same time.
There is no recorded "start" to Philippine folk dance - as long as there have been
people on the islands they have been dancing. In fact, their mythology is filled with many
different gods and goddesses that needed to be placated, implored, or thanked for various
natural events like rain and harvests. Many of these festivals still feature ancient folk
dances performed in costume of the tribal period.
It is impossible to know when exactly dancing became a part of life in the
Philippines. Many traditional dances were designed to thank the gods for natural and
agricultural events, such as rain and harvests. 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. Many modern folk dance festivals still feature
ancient dances performed in costume of the tribal period of the Philippines.
Philippine folk dance mirrors the culture and tradition of the Filipinos. It has also
been a source of culture identify of the people. In this diversified country, there are also
great diversity of dances in different forms and dynamics that grow out of various times,
situation and experiences.
GEOGRAPHICAL ORIGIN
Rigodon - Originated from Spain, this dance is commonly performed at formal affairs
like inaugural balls where prominent members of the government participate and enjoy.
La Jota Manileña - It is a dance named after the capital city of the Philippines, Manila, where an
adaptation of Castilian Jota afloats with the clacking of bamboo castanets played by the dancers
themselves. The costume and the graceful movements of the performers are inspired by Spanish
Culture.
List of popular Philippine Folk Dances from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao
3. Mazurka Boholana
Mazurka Boholana is a Spanish-inspired ballroom dance from the Bohol province of
the Philippines. Although the mazurka is the Polish national dance, it was wildly popular
throughout Europe in the 19th century and even in colonized lands overseas.
Hip-hop as a cultural movement began in the Bronx in New York City in 1976,
mostly among the African-American and Latino population. During the early 1980s,
certain aspects of this culture – for example, the clothes, language and music – began
spreading into the mainstream population of the USA and, by the 1990s, hip-hop culture
had spread throughout the world. This was mainly due to more groups using videos to
promote their music, which were then viewed by a wider audience through music
channels. Some consider beat boxing to be the fifth element of the genre; others might
add fashion, slang, Double Dutching (an urban form of rope skipping, demonstrated in
Malcolm McLaren’s video to the song Double Dutch in the early 80s), or other elements
as important facets of hip hop. In mainstream spheres, the term “hip-hop” typically refers
only to the music produced by the MCing and DJing aspects of hip-hop culture.
Influences
The various factors that influenced hip-hop culture are complex and numerous, and they
can provide valuable stimuli for your street dance choreography. Although the majority
of influences can be traced to African culture, the multicultural society of New York City
resulted in diverse musical influences finding their way into hip-hop music. One of the
many influences for both hip-hop culture and music was Jamaican dub music, which
arose as a sub-genre of reggae in the 1960s. Dub music saw producers such as King
Tubby creating instrumental versions of popular reggae records for the purpose of clubs
and sound systems; they had discovered that dancers often responded better to the
extended, isolated beats of the records, often featuring intense percussion and heavy
baselines. The DJs became cult figures, fighting duels that were based on turntable skills.
Break-Dancing
Break-dancing, also known as b-boying or b-girling by its practitioners and followers,
is a dynamic style of dance. The term “break-dancer” originates from the dancers at DJ
Kool Herc’s parties, who saved their best dance moves for the break section of the song.
Breaking is one of the major elements of hip-hop culture, commonly associated with, but
distinct from, popping, locking, hitting, ticking, boogaloo and other funk styles that
evolved independently during the late 20th century. Hip-hop dance comes from break-
dancing but does not consist wholly of break-dancing moves. Unlike most other forms of
dance, which are often at least moderately structured, hip-hop dance has few (if any)
limitations on positions or steps.
Top Rocking
Some of the earliest dancing by b-boy pioneers was done upright, and became known as
top rocking. The structure and form of top rocking has infused dance forms and
influences from Brooklyn up rocking, tap, Lindy hop, James Brown’s Good Foot, salsa,
Afro-Cuban and various African and Native American dances.
Locking
The west coast was also engaged in a cultural movement throughout the 1970s. This
scene was nourished by soul, R&B and funk music at outdoor functions and discos. In
Los Angeles, Don Campbell – also known as Don Cambellock – originated the dance
form locking. Trying to imitate a dance called the funky chicken, Don Campbell added an
effect of locking the joints of his arms and body, which became known as his signature
dance. The lock is a specific movement that glues together combinations of steps and
moves, similar to a freeze or a sudden pause. Combinations can consist of a series of
points done by extending the arms and pointing in different directions. Dancers combined
fancy step patterns with the legs and moves done in various sequences.
Popping
Originally, popping was a term used to describe a sudden muscle contraction executed
with the triceps, forearms, neck, chest and legs. These contractions accentuated the
dancer’s movement, causing a quick, jolting effect.
Hip-hop as a movement has many different influences on street dance in terms of its
background, style and type of clothing. Each of these elements can provide us with
stimuli to help choreograph our dances.
Dancer who introduced and greatly popularized the contemporary dance to the
worldwide audience was Martha Graham (1894 - 1991). During her seven decade long
career, her modern dance and choreographies gathered the fame that is today compared to
the life works of legendary art geniuses such as Picasso, Stravinski and Frank Lloyd
Wright.
Merce Cunningham refined the work that his colleague Martha Graham formed, and
expanded with this his own improvements, choreographies and avant-garde dance
techniques. During his long career he was regarded as one of the greatest creative forces
in American dance, education dozens of worldwide famous dancers and thousands
professional dancers who preserved his style until today.
Lester Horton was a very influential contemporary dance visionary, who trained many
famous modern dancers and managed to incorporate the styles of Native American dance
and modern jazz into his dance techniques.
You may wonder the difference between all the different styles of dance. Well before
Contemporary dance and Modern dance there was Ballet but later on there were
ballerinas that wanted a style of dance that broke away from the rigid structure of ballet.
That is where Modern dance and Contemporary came along.
The modern dance styles do not have set of rules. Modern dancers often create their own
dance routines using their emotions and moods, but on the other hand, many
performances are choreographed.
Modern dancers prefer a more relaxed and free style of dancing. While ballerinas try to
be light on their feet, modern dancers use body weight to increase movement.
Ballrom Dance
Dance is one of the oldest human activities that has managed to follow us through
our development as a species, our spreading across continents and rise of modern cultures
and civilizations. The oldest archaeological evidences of dance can be traced to some 9
thousand years ago, and ever since then its presence in historical records grew and took
greater significance as they became part of our daily lives, customs and various religious
ceremonies. As the music and dance became more complex and advanced, it started to
separate in two distinct forms -one for general population that was practiced openly, and
other one for aristocracy and royalty that was practiced in closed environments during
special occasions. This separation of dance became especially noticeable in Europe after
the end of the Middle Ages, when Renaissance influences born in Italy and France started
drastically changing 16th century European lifestyle.
Ballroom dancing was a product of that time, and it signified the tradition of social
dancing of the privileged. It name was derived from the word ball, which originated from
the Latin word “ballare” which means “to dance”. After a while, boundaries between
high classes and lower classes disappeared, transforming the ballrooms across Europe
into places where both folk dances and sophisticated dances can be performed.
Records of the earliest European ballroom dates form the end of 16th century were made
by Jehan Tabourot who published his French renaissance social dance study called
“Orchésographie” in 1588. He described many popular dances of that time, with
instructions for pavane, livelier branle, and galliarde (which was popularized greatly by
Shakespeare’s work on drama stage). Arrival of dance Minuet in 1650 France was a very
important point in the early history of ballroom dance. Adopted and danced in public by
King Louis XIV himself, this dance popularized ballroom dance all across France, and
continued to be used in European ballrooms until the end of the 18th century. Several
decades after the arrival of Minuet, King King Louis XIV formed the first academy of
dance (Académie Royale de Musique et de Danse) which was the home of the first
organized dance study. Later on, professional dances from that school would start
preforming new type of dance to King’s court (and eventually to the general ballrooms),
dance that will all know today as ballet.
Dance that left the most significant mark on the Victorian era was none other than waltz.
Introduced in early 19th century, this dance managed to spread like a fire across England,
fueled by the excellent 1819 instruction book called “Invitation to the Dance” by Carl
Maria von Weber. After initial period of opposition from the general public and
aristocracy (they did not like close hold of dance partners), this dance was adopted by all
and became one of the most popular dances of all time. Its popularity also spawned
creation of many other new types of dances, like Polka, Mazurka, and the Schottische
(they all appeared in 1840s).
20th century was truly the birthplace of modern dance, and ballrooms from all around the
world were swept with the never-ending tide of new dances that were created between
1910 and 1930. Those dances were fast, energetic, they featured independent movement
of dancers, and more.
The final stage in the history of ballroom dance can be contributed to the rise of the
popular media personalities, who created new dance routines which were imitated by
millions. This era started with the exploits of Vernon and Irene Castle, Josephine Bradley
and Victor Silvester during 1920s, and was continued with the Hollywood movie pairing
of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
History of Festivals in the Philippines
escapade. And yet, beyond all these picture-perfect sights, the charm of the Philippines
lies in a culture deeply seated in religion and history, which remain relevant up to the
some that uphold a region’s distinct culture. Here are some of the Philippine festivals
Sinulog in Cebu
The grandest festival of the country is easily Cebu’s Sinulog Festival, which honors
the Señor Santo Niño or the Child Jesus, an image of which was a gift from the
Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan to Raja Humabon and Hara Amihan when he
came to conquer the Philippines in 1521. ‘Sinulog’ is derived from the Cebuano
adverb ‘sulog’, which roughly translates to “like water current movement”—the
inspiration for the festival’s famous two steps forward, one step backward dance.
While recent years have made Sinulog more notorious for its street parties, there are
still millions of devotees who make the pilgrimage to the Basilica Minore del Santo
Niño, the oldest Roman Catholic church in the country, built on the spot where the
statuette of the Child Jesus was found by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi in 1565.
Ati-Atihan in Kalibo, Aklan
When: February
Every February, the Summer Capital of the Philippines celebrates its annual flower
festival, called the Panagbenga Festival. From a Kankanaey term that means ‘season
of blooming’ or ‘time for flowering’, Panagbenga is a tribute to Baguio City’s vibrant
and diverse flora. The festival’s origins go back to the 1990s, as a hopeful celebration
of Baguio’s rise and recovery following a devastating 7.7-magnitude earthquake that
caused extensive damage to the city.
Panagbenga is known for its flower-decorated floats and street dancing, with
participants wearing flower-themed costumes. It is also famous for all its bazaars and
trade fairs, allowing the people of Baguio City to showcase their world-class talent.
When: May 15
In honor of St. Isidore the Laborer, patron saint of farmers in the Philippines, the
people of Lucban, Quezon celebrate the Pahiyas Festival in the middle of the summer.
It began as a simple celebration of thanksgiving back in the 15th century,
when farmers offered their harvests at the foot Mount Banahaw—a practice that
carried on after the first Church was established and saw natives offering their fresh
farm produce to St. Isidore. Eventually, with the Church unable to accommodate all the
harvest, they were instead displayed at the homes of the farmers.
Today, the Pahiyas continues this tradition, with participants going beyond
showcasing their harvests to also put up hats, bags, fans, longganisa, and of
course, kiping—colorful, leaf-shaped wafers made of rice dough.
Kadayawan in Davao
Masskara in Bacolod