Here are the names you should remember:

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. (READ: Google marks
Francisca Reyes-Aquino's 120th birth anniversary with doodle)

LOLA KIKAY. Francisca Reyes-Aquino is considered as the mother of Filipino Folk Dance for her research.
Photo from NCCA

Reyes-Aquino’s research produced a number of 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 a number of 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 also 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.

Photo from NCCA

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 also apprenticed under Francisca Reyes-Aquino. She graduated
with a degree in Physical Education from the Philippine Women's University (PWU) in 1950.

She thenbecame part of the Bayanihan 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 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 iin
1964, she began to teach in the school and later, took a graduate course at nearby Ateneo de Manila
University. She would later on 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 a number of 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.

MODERN AND BALLET. Alice Reyes is the latest National Artist for Dance. Photo courtesy of NCCA

For her work in dance, Reyes, was given a number of awards, including the Gawad CCP para sa Sining
and in 2012, was awarded the Gawad Buhay Outstanding Choreopgrahy for Dance for Rama Hari. She
was recognized as a National Artist for Dance in 2014.

5. Ligaya Fernando Amilbangsa. Ligaya Amilbangsa is a Ramon Magsaysay awardee, known 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.
PANGAALAY. Ligaya Amilbangsa has given dedicated her life to teach the 'pangalay' dance. File photo
from Rappler

In Manila, she staged the pangalay and lunsay dances for the Hwa Yi Ethnic Dance Center and co-
founded the AlunAlun Dance Circle in 1999, which aims to promote pangalay through performances,
research, and dance training.

Her work has been recognized both local and international including UNESCO and the International
Dance Competition in Seoul in 1994, where her pangalay choreography won the silver award under the
folk dance category.– Rappler.