PAGUIRIGAN, ABEGAIL M.

BSBA MAJOR IN FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

OLCO22A5

ACTIVITY 5

Five Filipino women that contributed to our Philippine Folk Dance

1. Francisca Reyes-Aquino. Reyes-Aquino is considered the mother of Filipino folk dance. Born
in Bocaue, Bulacan, Reyes-Aquino graduated with a BS Education degree from the University of
the Philippines. She traveled to various parts of the country to record dances from different
provinces.

In 1921 during the Manila Fiesta Carnival, Reyes-Aquino, who was a student assistant for Physical
Education, presented 4 dances – cariñosa, abaruray, salabat, and areuana. She then earned a
master’s degree from UP, where she presented her dissertation Philippine Folk Dances and
Games, which would be used by teachers and playground instructors as material for teaching
dance.
Reyes-Aquino’s research produced several books. She’s the author of Philippine Folk Dances and
Games (1927), Philippine National Dances (1946), Gymnastics for Girls (1947), Fundamental
Dance Steps and Music (1948), Foreign Folk Dances (1949), Dances for All
Occasions (195), Playground Demonstration (1951), Philippine Folk Dances in 6 volumes (1951-
1979), Rhythmic Activities (1952), and Philippine Folk Dances and Songs as co-author in 1966.
Reyes-Aquino is also a recipient of several awards, including the Ramon Magsaysay Award in
1962. She was named National Artist in 1973 for her contribution to dance.
2. Leonor Orosa-Goquingco. Orosa-Goquingco is known as the “Mother of Philippine Dance
Theater” and “Dean of Filipino Performing Arts Critics.” Born in Jolo, Sulu, Orosa-Goquinco
finished a BS Education degree, summa cum laude at St. Scholastica’s College. She then took
graduate courses in theater craft, drama, and music at Columbia University and Teachers College
in New York.
Orosa-Coquinco started as a ballet dancer and took courses in professional and teacher training
under some of the best dance teachers of her time, including National Artist for Dance Francisca
Reyes-Aquino.

At 17, Orosa-Gonquingco started experimenting with dance. Among the productions she
produced include Circling the Globe, Dance Panorama, and The Elements. After World War 2, she
organized the Philippine Ballet, where she brought to life Noli Me Tangere onstage. In 1958, she
founded the Filipinescas Dance Company, which would go on various tours around the world.
Aside from ballet, Orosa-Gonquingco was known for breaking traditions in dance. Several of her
choreographic dances formed the Filipinescas: Philippine Life, Legend, and Lore in
Dance production.
Aside from being a dancer, Orosa-Gonquingco also wrote books, essays, and a one-act play. She
became the recipient of various awards, including a Presidential Award of Merit in 1970. She was
awarded National Artist for Dance in 1976.

3. Lucrecia Reyes-Urtula. Lucrecia Reyes-Urtula started her love for folk dance when she was
young. Born in Iloilo, Lucrecia was exposed to many folk dances because of her father, a colonel,
who was stationed in various parts of the Philippines.
She took ballet lessons in Baguio and apprenticed under Francisca Reyes-Aquino. She graduated
with a degree in Physical Education from the Philippine Women’s University (PWU) in 1950.

Lucrecia started teaching at PWU and was active in the Filipiniana Folk Arts Group as both teacher
and student. In 1955, the group attended the International Festival of Dance and Music in Dacca,
Pakistan, which inspired her and the group to continue researching local dances. They also
reached out to more indigenous groups to learn about their culture.
She then became part of the Bahamian Philippine Dance Company. Lucrecia was also its
choreographer and dance director. In her tours with the group, Reyes-Urtula started
choreographing not just stage but also film and television.
Lucrecia also served as artistic director for dance at the Folk Arts Theater, conceptualized and
managed the Philippine Folk Dance Society, among others. She was awarded National Artist for
Dance in 1988.
4. Alice Reyes. Alice Reyes comes from a family of performers. Her father Ricardo Reyes was “Mr.
Folk Dancer” and a pianist, while her mother Adoracion was a voice teacher. Her sisters Denisa
Reyes and Edna Vida are also dancer-choreographers, while sisters Betty and Cecile are
musicians.
After graduating from Maryknoll (now Miriam College) with a degree in History and Foreign
Affairs in 1964, she began to teach in the school and later, took a graduate course at nearby
Ateneo de Manila University. She would, later, earn various scholarships, including a grant from
the John D. Rockefeller III Fund. She later completed her master’s degree in Fine Arts major in
dance at Sarah Lawrence College.
Reyes was already exposed to dance at an early age, having danced with her father when she
was barely 14. She became a dancer and choreographer for several TV shows and productions
and performed in various parts of the world.
In 1969, she founded the Alice Reyes and Modern Dance Company, which performed at the
Cultural Center of the Philippines. Reyes would later organize dance workshops.
Her group paved the way for the formation of the CCP Dance Company, now known as Ballet
Philippines. She would later serve as artistic director of Ballet Philippines from 19970 to 1991.
Among her well-known dance choreographies include Tales of the Manuvu and Rama Hari, which
she worked on with Ryan Cayabyab. Her work with Ballet Philippines has been recognized
worldwide, with its use of Filipino and Asian themes and music.
For her work in dance, Reyes, was given several awards, including the Gawad CCP para sa Sining
and in 2012, was awarded the Gawad Buhay Outstanding Choreography for Dance for Rama Hari.
She was recognized as a National Artist for Dance in 2014.
5. Ligaya Fernando knew for her research on the pangalay or igal, a pre-Islamic traditional dance
among the ethnic groups in the Southern Philippines.
Amilbangsa first learned of the dance when she her husband, Datu Punjungan Amilbangsa moved
to Sulu. Captivated by the pangalay dance, she began to research about it and later studied
culture, music, and the visual arts of the Sama and Sama Dilaut (Badjao), Jama Mapun, and the
Tausug. Her name became known thanks to the work she did in documenting the pangalay/igal
dance style of the Yakan known as pamansak.
Aside from the pangalay, Amilbangsa also documented other dance forms – the langka, a martial
dance form and the lunsay, a song-dance tradition.

After her research, Amilbangsa established the Amilbangsa Instruction Method (AIM), which
gave children and adults the opportunity to study the pangalay in a scientific and systematic form.
She also published two books, Pangalay: Traditional Dancers and Related Folk Artistic Expressions
(1983) and Ukkil: Visual Arts of the Sulu Archipelago in 2005.