DANCE

LESSON

8
1st Quarter
Most Essential Learning Competency
 Defines contemporary arts in the Philippines
 Relates the significance of art forms from the regions

Time Allotment: 2 hours

References

 Contemporary Phillippine Arts from the Regions by Ayesha H. Sayseng and Luzviminda
D. Sandagan

Let’s Explore
This module will help escalate student’s knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the
evolution of dance. Readings, lectures and researches will focus on the kinds of dances and on how
they influenced Philippine folk and contemporary dance; artists and innovators of dance throughout
history; and on the dance's development as an art form and a social phenomenon; participation in
discussions and sharing of critiques and short reports will offer avenues to explore students'
individual interests in Philippine contemporary dance.

Learning Experience

Dance

Dance is based upon music or any rhythmic sound. It is characterized by rhythmic or repetition to move one's
feet or body, or both, rhythmically in a pattern of steps, especially to the accompaniment of music.

The American introduced the Vaudeville or bodabil dancing. Dances like:

 buck-and-wing
 tap dancing
 clog
 skirt dancing

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 ..were among the dances being performed in the show.

Buck-and-wing - A style of step dance featuring energetic leg and

arm movements and typically performed in wooden-soled shoes.

Tap Dance - A step dance in which the performer wears shoes equipped with taps that
make a rhythmic sound on the stage as he/she dances.

Clog Dance - Clog dancing is dancing while wearing clogs. This is a form
of step dance characterized by the wearing of inflexible, wooden soled clogs.

Skirt Dance is a form of dance popular in Europe and America, particularly in

burlesque and vaudeville theater of the 1890s, in which women dancers would
manipulate long, layered skirts with their arms to create a motion of flowing
fabric, often in a darkened theater with colored light projectors highlighting the
patterns of their skirts.

European Classical Ballet entered the Scene:

System of dance based on formalized movements and

positions of the arms, feet, and body designed to enable the
dancer to move with the greatest possible agility, control,
speed, lightness, and grace.

Filipinos who became ballet Instructor in the Philippines

are:
“Remedios de Oteyza”
“Leonor Oroza”

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 Ballet was followed by Modern Dance as a revolutionary in nature and does not conform to the rules of
classical ballet. It is a form of contemporary theatrical and concert dance employing a special technique for
developing the use of the entire body in movements expressive of abstract ideas.

It deals with:
 Mixture of a wide range of dances
 Western and Asian dances
 Traditional dances
 Experimental dances

Folk and Social dances followed the rise of Modern dance:

Francisca Reyes Aquino

 After she researched on the Philippine Folk dances.

 Her published research on Folk dances influenced many Filipino dancers to do similar things.
 She entered the Bureau of Education, the Bureau integrated folk dances in the Educational System which
resulted to its popularity

5 Major Classifications of Philippine Folk dances

 Cordillera Dances
 Spanish Influenced Dances
 Muslim Dances
 Tribal dances
 Rural Dances

 Cordillera Dances
Their rituals celebrate their daily lives - a good harvest, health, peace, war, and other symbols of living. Ex.
“Pattong” and “Banga”

 Spanish Influenced Dances

Dances reflects socialites to the Christianity, and stringed music of European and the rondalla culture. Ex. “Jota”
and “Habanera”

 Muslim Dances
Influenced by Malay, Javanese and Middle eastern Trades(Islam) Ex. “Singkil” and “Pangalay”

 Tribal Dances
Reflects rituals and animals, belief in “spirits and shamans”
Also known as Ethnic nature- “anito” dances; Ethnic minorities. Ex. “Madal tahaw” and “Bangkakaw”

 Rural Dances
Reflects the simple life of perseverance the people in barrio. Ex. “Maglalatik” & “Pandango sa Ilaw”

There were dance groups that developed Filipino adaptations of European and American dances like:
 Valse - waltz
 Regaudo - A lively jumping quickstep for two couples, usually in rapid duple meter.
 Polka - A 19th-century Bohemian dance with three steps and a hop, in fast duple time
 Fandango-A lively Spanish or Spanish-American dance in triple time, performed by a man and woman
playing castanets.

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  Jota-A Spanish dance with castanets in fast triple time

Today, the mentioned dance forms are still alive even in the contemporary setting
 People on the Region still performs traditional and folk dances especially in fiestas and festivals
 Ballet still exists, and ballet schools and associations were established
 Modern dance continues to live with more techniques and innovations

In the Local setting, many dance groups were established:

 Integrated Performing Arts Guild(IPAG)-(Iligan City)
 Dagyaw Theater and Dance Company-(Iloilo City)
 Teatro Amakan-(Iloilo City)
 Philippine High School for the arts-(Laguna)
 There are still many other groups founded to develop further, promote and preserve Philippine dance.

Development
 Bodabil Dance
 Classical Ballet
 Modern Dance
 Folk Dance
 Contemporary Dance

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