Physical Education and Health 2

Module 2

Philippine Dances At the end of this module, I can:

Define traditional dance.

Give examples of traditional dance.
Discuss the nature of traditional dances.
Observe personal safety protocols.
Perform traditional dances in class.

Now that you have already learned the basic information that you need to perform any physical activity, you are finally
ready to take the physical activity challenge for this semester—dancing. Throughout this semester, you must apply all you
have learned from Module 1 so that you can better optimize your energy for dancing and prevent injuries. For your first
challenge, you will learn about and eventually perform traditional dance.

Philippine Traditions on Dance

Dance has been a part of Filipino life since time immemorial. Since the ancient times, early Filipinos have used rhythmic
movements to express their emotions, beliefs, and faith. Most of these movements are imitations of what they see in their
environment such as the swaying of trees and the motions of animals. In the long run, these rhythmic movements develop
into dances that have become part of peoples’ traditions.

Traditions are “ways of thinking, behaving, or doing something that have been used by the people in a particular group for
a long time (Merriam-Webster, 2016).” Traditional dances, or commonly known as folk dances, are dance practices that
have been passed on or handed down from one generation to another. These dances have evolved naturally over time.
Many of the dances in the past were performed as rituals to express gratitude or to make sacrifices to gods and goddesses.
Some dances were performed to celebrate life occasions and war victories. Today, these dances are performed to relive
the traditions of early Filipinos. Itik-Itik is a folk dance tradition that showcases movements that imitate ducks or itik.

Big idea: Dance has been a part of Filipino culture as dancing is one of the many ways Filipinos express their ideals and
beliefs in life.

According to Basilio Esteban S. Villaruz, in his book Treading Through: 45 Years of Philippine Dance (2006), Philippine dance
is generally composed of the following:

a. Those that propitiate the spirits

b. Those that are imitative of animal life or activities
c. Those meant for socializing and celebrating
d. Those that were inherited from colonial masters
e. Those mentioned above that have now been performed for tourism programs for both cultural and economic use

Pre-colonial Dances
In the Philippines, many of the precolonial or indigenous dances are basically Malay in origin until Western colonizers
came and influenced the native dance traditions. Nevertheless, precolonial dances can be classified, according to Villaruz
(2006), as being religious, imitative of life activities and of the movements in the environment, and as being for
socialization.
Religious dances, which often involve communicating with the gods, include dance rituals on death, after-life, recovery
from illness, and veneration of gods through the babaylan or catalonan, a female spiritual leader who was regarded as an
expert in communicating with the divine. In such dances, dancers normally make offerings to the spirits.
Related to the religious dances are the occupational dances, which are dance rituals that mimic work-related activities
such as hunting, planting, and harvesting. These kinds of dances are often lengthy since they mimic the actions performed
before, during, and after a specific activity.
Mimicry is actually common in many traditional dances. For instance, dancers imitate movements that they observe in
nature. Examples are the tinikling, which mimics the movements of the tikling (a kind of bird) and the itik-itik, which
imitates the movements of the itik (duck). War or martial dances also feature mimicry as the steps imitate the
movements usually seen in duels, combats, and battles. Examples are the mangayaw of the Bontoc and idaw of the
Kalinga, which are both related to the kayaw or headhunting expeditions of the said ethnic groups. In Jolo, Sulu, there is
the langka silat, a dance simulation of a fight showcasing graceful and flowing movement of arms.
There are also indigenous dances that celebrate life events such as courtship and marriage. Such dances usually focus on
romance and the exchange of presents or dowries.

Colonization-Influenced Dances
During the Spanish occupation, the lives of the early Filipinos were restructured in terms of politics,
economics, religion, and culture. The same thing happened in dance, as the Spanish colonizers brought in their own
dances. The most popular among these Spanish dances are the jota, polka, waltz, and fandango. Other Spanish dances
include the paseo and the pateado as well as the surtido and the habanera, which both came from Cuba, another Spanish
colony. Today, these dances have numerous variations with distinct Filipino dances. Similarly, traditional Filipino dances
were influenced by the tempo and temper of the European dances brought in by the Spaniards. For example, the tinikling
and itik-itik acquired the tempo of the jota and the polka (Villaruz, 2015).
Many Spanish-influenced dances revolve around Christianity. The bate is a waltz dance performed during
Easter, while the pastores is performed during Christmas time. There are also festive dances such as the sayaw sa
Obando, a waltz or fandango performed by married couples who want to have a child. Spanish-era dances were
popularized by the Spanish music theater such as the zarzuela.
Today, these dances have been the contributing factors in the traditions of folk dances in the Philippines.
While many of the traditional dances today are of Spanish origin—some are having English and French influence—these
dances have already been part of the customs of the Filipino people for so long that they already made their own
interpretation, execution, and expression, making these dances already traditionally Filipino.
Sayaw sa Obando is a traditional dance performed in Obando, Bulacan. It is a Spanish-influenced fertility
dance festival that is performed in front of the Obando Church by couples who are praying to have a child.
Folk Dance Programs in the Philippines
Philippine folk dances can be categorized as lowland Christian (or rural) and non-Christian ethnic dances of
cultural minority groups. Ethnic dances originated from the Philippine cultural minority groups such as the ethnic groups
in the Cordillera in northern Luzon, the Muslims in Sulu and Mindanao, and the Lumads (non-Muslim folks) of Mindanao,
Mindoro, and Palawan. These dances have been around since the ancient times and were performed even during and
after foreign invasions.
The standard program of Philippine folk dance performance is composed of five suites—the Cordillera
Suite, the Spanish-Influenced or “Maria Clara” Suite, Mindanao Muslim Suite, Lumad Suite, and Rural Suite. Table 2.1
shows the list of folk dances per suite.
Table 2.1 Folk Dance Program Suites in the Philippines

Traditionally, a folk dance presentation or program is performed with dances from each of the five suites. A full-
length folk dance program, which usually lasts for about 2 hours, features 25 to 30 dances from the different suites,
with each dance choreographed and shortened to about three to five minutes only.

The Eight Locomotor Skills

In any dance, the following locomotor skills come in handy in performing steps and movement patterns. Practice
and master these skills.

1. Walk – series of steps done in any direction

2. Run – faster phase of walk with momentary suspension of the body
3. Jump – spring on one or both feet, landing on both feet
4. Hop – spring on one foot, landing on the same foot
5. Skip – spring on one foot and landing on the same foot
6. Gallop – with a step pattern of step, cut, step
7. Slide or glide – moving the foot without lifting off the floor
8. Leap – spring on one foot and landing on the other foot (similar to luksong tinik)
COMMON DANCE TERMS (Foot and Hand Positions)

Arms in lateral position – Both arms are at one side either right or left, at shoulder, chest or waist level.

Brush – Weight on one foot, hit the floor with the ball or heel of the other foot and lift that foot from the floor to
any direction.

Crossed Arms – Partners facing each other or standing side by side join their left hands together and the right
hands together; either right over left or left over right hands.

Cut – To displace quickly one foot with the other.

Do-si-do – Partners advance forward, pass each other’s right ( left ) side, step across to the right move backwards
without turning around, pass each other left side to proper places.

Hayon-hayon – To place one forearm in front and the other at he back of the waist.

Hop – A spring from one foot landing on the same foot in place or in any direction.

Jaleo – Partners turn around clockwise ( with right elbows almost touching ) or counterclockwise ( with left elbows
almost touching ) using walking or any kind of dance step.

Jump – A spring on one foot or both feet landing on both feet in any direction.

Kumintang – moving the hand from the wrist either in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction.

Leap – A spring from one foot landing on the other foot in any direction.

Place – To put foot in a certain position without putting weight on it.

Pivot – To turn with the ball, heel or whole foot on a fixed place or point.

Point – Touch the floor lightly with the toes of one foot, weight of the body on the other foot.

Masiwak – To turn the hand from the wrist half-way clockwise then raise and lower wrist once or twice. This is an
Ibanag term.

16. Panadyak – To stamp in front or at the side with the right foot and tap with same foot close to the left foot. This
is a Tagalog term.

17. Patay – To bend the head downward and to support the forehead with the R

forearm or with the crook of the R elbow while the left hand supports lightly the

palm of the right hand. This is usually done with the left foot pointing in rear and

knees slightly bent. This is an Ilocano term and the movement is commonly

found in Ilocano dances.

18. Salok – T o swing the arm downward-upward passing in front of the body as

if scooping, the trunk is bent following the movement of the arm doing the salok.

This is a Tagalog term.

19. Saludo – Partners bow to each other, to the audience, opposite dancers, or to the neighbors with feet together.
This is of Spanish origin and is used in almost all Philippine dances.

20. Sarok – Cross the R foot in front of the L , bend the body slightly forward and cross the hands down in front of
the R hand over the L. This is a Visayan term.

21. Slide – To glide foot smoothly along the floor. The movement may be finished

with or without transfer of weight.

22. Stamp – To bring the foot forcibly and noisily on the floor with or without transfer of weight.

23. Tap – To rap slightly with the ball or toe of the free foot, flexing the ankle joint keeping weight of the body on
the other foot. There is no change or transfer of weight.

24. Whirl – To make fast turns by executing small steps in place to right or left.
Rhythmic Patterns and Time Signature

Music is an indispensable part of Philippine folk dance. Thus, to learn folk dancing also means understanding basic
music terms. In music, a note is the unit in musical rhythm that shows when and how long a tone is taken. In dance,
it indicates the duration of movement to be performed. The note shows the rhythmic pattern for music and dance.
Rhythmic pattern is “the arrangement of long and short intervals with relation to the underlying beat,
accomplished by dividing the beat into parts and combining beats into different ways” (Aquino, 1997). In other
words, rhythmic pattern tells you about the pacing and tempo of the music and dance in relation to the beats and
rest. Beat is the “steady underlying pulse of rhythm” while rest is “a character used to indicate silence or pause for
a certain time” (Aquino, 1997). The most practical way to describe rhythmic pattern is count. A time signature tells
you how the counting is done. It is written at the beginning of the musical staff. The top number tells you how
many beats to count, while the bottom number indicates the kind of note that receives one beat.

Tasks: Do what is asked in each item.

A. In your own words, define and describe traditional dance.

B. How can you describe Philippine dances based on the categories mentioned by Villaluz?

C. Make a short video presentation of any community folk dance of your own choice. The video shall
showcase the basic hand and foot positions. It will be sent through email: ramzheymercado@gmail.com
with a short description on it.
Note: This task is good for three (3) weeks. Deadline of submission of the completed task will be on
October 30, 2020. Good Luck!

Prepared by: Rodimar M. Ramirez