Francisca Reyes Aquino, the legendary "Mother of Philippine Dancing," was born in Lolomboy,

Bocaue, in the Philippine Province of Bulacan, on March 9, 1899. She was the eldest of three children
of Filipe Reyes and Juliana Santos Reyes of Manila. She obtained her High School Teacher's Certificate
in 1923 and her Bachelor of Science in Education degree in 1924 from the University of the
Philippines.

As early as 1921 to 1923, Francisca began her search for folk dances to use in classes while a Student
Assistant in Physical Educatiion. She traveled to remote barrios (rural communities) in Central and
Northern Luzon. In 1924, she became an Assistant Instructor. She quickly saw that, with further
impact of Western culture, many dances would be lost or extensively modified.

She continued gathering folk dances, songs, and games for her master's thesis at the University of the
Philippines in 1926. She revised her work in 1927, and published it as Philippine Folk Dances and
Games. In this and later collections, the great diversity of dance type, tempo, and music reflected a
many-faceted Filipino character.

She was asked to chair a committee at the university that would go to the most remote areas of the
Philippines to gather material directly from the old people who used to dance them in their younger
days. The hundreds of dances were collected and transcribed with close attention to their authenticity
and local color, then presented to the Manila public at various dance recitals. The university offered
dance classes in the physical education department and a folk dance troupe was formed that toured
the provinces to acquaint the people with the various folk dances of the country.

From 1929 to 1931, Francisca's teaching and research were interrupted by two years of study at
Boston University as a University of the Philippines Fellow. Receiving a Certificate in Physical
Education, the experience broadened her professional interest in the dance as an art form and also
equipped her for more intensive field research upon her return.

In 1934, Francisca married Professor Ramon P. Tolentino, Jr., then Assistant Director of the
Department of Physical Education, who shared her dream of promoting Philippine folk dances in the
physical education curriculum of Philippine schools. In that same year, university president Jorge
Bocobo gave tangible support to Frances Reyes Tolentino's research proposal, enabling her, her
husband and a university colleague, Antonio Buenaventura, to study native dances in Mindanao,
Leyte, and Mountain Province and record songs with the aid of a Victor recording machine.

In 1947, she married Serafin Aquino, secretary-treasurer of the Philippine Amateur Athletic
Federation, an enthusiastic collaborator in presentation of his wife's work. That same year, Frances
Reyes Aquino became the superintendant of Physical Education, Bureau of Public Schools, Philippine
Republic. She was awarded a Doctor of Sciences degree in Physical Education, Honoris Causa, from
Boston University and, in 1959, a Doctor of Humanities, Honoris Causa, from Far Eastern University in
Manila, Philippines. She is the author of seven books and numerous articles.

In 1949, Dr. Reyes Aquino founded the Philippine Folk Dance Society to bring together physical
education students, teachers, administrators, and individuals interested in folk dancing.

Dr. Reyes Aquino received the "Philippine Republic Award of Merit" for her untiring efforts in
collecting, compiling, and propagating folk dances, and for her outstanding contribution to the
advancement of Filipino culture in the field of dance. Other awards include the Cultural Award,
UNESCO of the Philippines; the Rizal Pro-Patria Award; certificate of merit Bulacan Teachers
Association; the Ramón Magsaysay Award, and an award for outstanding alumna, College of
Education, University of the Philippines.

In 1961, Dr. Reyes Aquino was invited by the International Recreation Association on the Cultural
Exchange Program to lecture, teach, and demonstrate Philippine folk dances in the United States.
That same year, she was given the Rizal Pro-Patria Award, conferred on individuals (Filipino or
foreigner), societies, institutions, and other organizations.
For many years, Dr. Reyes Aquino was consultant to the world famous Bayanihan Folk Dance Troupe,
which continues to perform in the major capitols of the world. The University of the Philippines Dance
Troupe, founded in 1988 by Dr. Reyes Aquino, continues to perform for local audiences. The Cultural
Center of the Philippines has namamed one of their lower basement rehersal halls "Bulwagang
Francisca Reyes Aquino in her honor." The hall is for theater, dance, music arts, and occasionally for
lecture-demonstrations, artists' interactions, master classses, and workshops.

Active in organizations whose programs related to her work, Dr. Reyes Aquino was a member of the
Women's Athletic Committee of the Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation from 1940 to 1954 and
again in 1955 to 1956. She also served on the Curriculum Committee of the National College of
Physical Education, the National YMCA Board in 1945 and 1946, the Entertainment Committee of the
International Society for Education in 1960, and as a member of the United Nations Association of the
Philippines from 1956 until her death in 1984.

Among Dr. Reyes Aquino's publications are

Fundamental Dance Steps and Music, Manila, 1957.

Philippine Folk Dances, Manila, Vol. I, 1953.
Philippine National Dances, New York, 1946.
Philippine Folk Dance and Games, with Petron Ramos, New York, 1927.

Dances Dr. Reyes Aquino taught include Alahoy, Apat Apat, Ba-Ingles, Basulto, Binadyong, Himig Sa
Nayon, Kalapati, Lubi-Lubi, Maglalatik, Manang Biday, Polka sa Nayon, Tiklos, and Tinikling.

Serafin Aquino -- He is the husband of Francisca Reyes Aquino and the secretary-treasurer of the
Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation, an enthusiastic collaborator in presentation of his wife's
work.

Philippine Republic Award of Merit -- Francisca Reyes Aquino received the ________________ for her
untiring efforts in collecting, compiling, and propagating folk dances, and for her outstanding
contribution to the advancement of Filipino culture in the field of dance.

Philippine Folk Dance Society -- Francisca Reyes Aquino founded the ______________ to bring
together physical education students, teachers, administrators, and individuals interested in folk
dancing.