Tinikling

Tinikling is another Philippine folk dance that is inspired by an endemic bird called
“tikling.” The steps of this dance are an imitation of the movements of a “tikling” bird that hops and
escapes the traps set by hunters. Moving with poise and grace, the dancers skip in-between two bamboo
poles that are held to pound rhythmically against each other. This dance is a specialty of Leyte.

When you talk of Philippine dances that help shape the Filipino culture and
identity, then one dance that will always be there on top of the heap is the Tinikling. This dance is an
important part of the Filipino culture and others are saying that this dance is the national dance of the
country. The dance has that indigenous and Hispanic roots and considered to be one of the oldest in the
country. The dance has a rich history and everything about the dance has a story to tell- from the name of
the dance to the legend how the dance has evolved.

The first time audience of this dance will observe that the dance will involve the
movements that will require the dancers to avoid being hit by the moving bamboos. Actually there is a
more compelling story and movements to it than that. This dance of the country imitates the movement of
the tikling birds as these birds move and walk in between the grass stems, run over the tree branches or as
these birds avoids bamboo traps. In this dance, the dancers imitate the fast and the graceful movement of
these birds as these birds dodges the many hurdles they faced along the way and dancers do that by
avoiding the bamboo poles. Simply put, the name tinikling just means bamboo dance in the English
language.

According to some scholars and observers, this dance is from the Visayas region or
more specifically from the islands of Leyte. The people in this province has described the movement in
this dance as the movements of the tikling birds, thus that is how the name of the dance has evolved.
There have been a number of stories that tell the origins of the dance, and this lore has been passed on for
generations. One story says that the dance was started by the people who worked on the rice fields in the
provinces. It was the time when the Spaniards first set foot in the islands and the natives were sent to the
haciendas. This was the time when the natives lost control of their lands since they are under the so-called
encomienda system. Now, the people who worked slowly in the haciendas are often sent to the paddies
for some form of punishment. And their punishment is to stand in between the two bamboo poles, and
these two bamboo poles are clapped to hit the person's feet. And the natives will jump as the two bamboos
hit each other in order to avoid the pain. This kind of punishment then brought more harm than good since
the natives will sustain some bruises and they cannot work faster.

And the story has evolved, saying that the punishment has evolved into the dance
that people now know as the Tinikling. And when this is danced the music that can be heard is the
plucked strings in the Iberian-influence staccato that is interspersed with the tremolos and this music will
be kept in time with the double stepping sway balances. And since this dance requires the avoidance of
being hit by two moving bamboo poles, this dance has become an art and a dance.
This dance is known for its five steps:

. First four steps will require the dancers to dance opposite each other.

. And the last step for the dance will call for the dancers to start from the same side of the poles.

The bamboo used in the dance is also used as the percussive instrument and this
material is then banged to the ground in order to make a pattern of music. And when the bamboo closes
then this should be hard enough so that it will make some sound and the dancers should be quick enough
to avoid being hit by the two approaching bamboos. And as the dance continues, the banging of the
bamboo materials gets even harder and faster and the sound of the bamboos hitting each other thrills the
crowd and motivates the crowd to move harder and faster. By tradition, this dance is performed in the
country in certain Sundays. But right now, the Tinikling is no longer a punishment but a graceful ritual
called dance.