 She was a Filipino folk dancer and

academic noted for her research on

Philippine folk dance.

 She is a recipient of the Republic Award

of Merit and the Ramon Magsaysay Award
and is a designated National Artist of the
Philippines for Dance.
 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.
 Mrs. Reyes Tolentino organized
the Filipiniana Folk Dance Troupe which
performed for servicemen as a part of the United
States Army Special Services for seven months
in 1945.

 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.
 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., the 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.
 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.
 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 Education.
 Francisca Reyes Aquino
 Born: March 09, 1899
Died: November 21, 1983
 National Artist Award (1973)
 Dance
 Mother of Philippine Dancing