APRIL GWYN H.

GANCIA BSTM 2B

CARIÑOSA

One of the national dances we should be proud of is the Cariñosa. This is a courtship
dance known throughout the Philippines with its
flirtatious movements. The word “carinosa” means
affectionate, amiable, or lovable. Ther are many
versions of this dance, but hide and seek movements
using a fan and handkerchiefs are the most common.
Cariñosa meaning the loving or affectionate one is a
Philippine dance of Hispanic origin from the Maria Clara
suite of Philippine folk dances, where the fan or
handkerchief plays an instrumental role as it places the
couple in romance scenario.

Origin of Cariñosa

The dance was originated in the Panay Islands on the Visayan Islands and it was
introduced by the Spaniards during their colonization of the Philippines. It is related to
some of the Spanish dances like the bolero and the Mexican dance Jarabe Tapatio or
the Mexican Hat Dance. The word Cariñosa is from a Spanish word which literally means
"she that is loving" (the verb ending indicates it refers to a woman). As such, it is a
slow dance where a man and a woman dance together. Its style bears resemblance to
a bolero or a waltz. The Spanish first arrived on the island in 1569. The dance soon
spread around the Philippines, giving rise to different versions in different regions. In
Bicol, two handkerchiefs are used and both dancers point their feet forward as their
hands go up at the same time. In Visayan, the couple goes as far as combing each
other's hair. The hide and seek movements are common to all the versions. One
variation performed at weddings involved the man dancing around the woman until she
consents to dance with him.

Features of Carinosa

Originally Carinosa was danced with Maria Clara dress and Barong Tagalog for it
is a Maria Clara Spanish Dance when it is introduced. However as the Filipino people
saw and imitated this dance, they wore the patadyong kimona and camisa de chino to
reveal their love as a Filipino and other steps was revised to make it more Filipino but
the music did not change at all and reveals a Spanish Influence to the Filipinos. As
listed by the book of F.R. Aquino dancers may wear balintawak
style (a native dress of the Tagalog regions), camisa (a white
sleeve) or patadyong kimona ( a dress of the Visayan of
people)and for boys a barong Tagalog and colored pants.
Because it is a national dance, the dancers may wear any
Filipino costumes. The music of Carinosa shows a great Spanish
influence to the Filipinos. It is 3/4 in rhythm like some of the
Spanish dances. The Philippine Rondalla are playing this music
of the dance where it is an ensemble or an orchestra of string
instruments in the Philippines similar to the Spanish musicians
in Spain that comprises bandurrias, mandolins, guitar, basses,
drums, and banjos. Mostly men are playing rondalla instruments but women may also
take part.

Why is Carinosa important?

Cariñosa meaning the loving or affectionate one is a Philippine dance of colonial

era origin from the Maria Clara suite of Philippine folk dances, where the fan or
handkerchief plays an instrumental role as it places the couple in romance scenario.
The dance originated in Panay Island in the Visayan Islands and was introduced by the
Spaniards during their colonization of the Philippines. The cariñosa is a much-loved folk
dance in the Philippines. Spanish in origin, it is regarded as a national dance by
scholars, and the characteristic shy behavior of the female dancer is said to represent
the mannerisms of Filipina women. It was introduced to the country by the Spaniards
when they arrived in the 16th century. It belongs to the Maria Clara suite of Philippine
folk dances. These are so named in honour of Maria Clara, who was the main character
in Jose Rizal’s novel Noli Me Tangere, about the colonisation of the Philippines by the
Spanish.

The Basic Steps Of The Carinosa

 The 1st figure is the “Three Steps and Point”. It starts with the right foot, take
three steps sideward right. Point left foot in front. Right hand in reverse “T”
position and left hand on skirt/waist. Kumintang right hand when pointing left
foot.
 The 2nd figure is “Pointing”. It starts with the right foot, take three steps
forward and meet at the center. Take four touch steps in front, right and left
alternately. Take four steps forward to partner’s place, passing each other by
right shoulder. Turn right about to face each other and close right to left.
 The 3rd figure is “Back-to Back”. The partners meet at the center as in figure
II. Turn right about to be in back-to back position, slightly to right of partner. Girl
holds skirt; boy places hands on waist. Point right foot in front and shake right
index finger at partner over right shoulder by left shoulder; left hand on waist.
Step right sideward to be side by side with partner by left shoulder; place right
hand on waist.
 The 4th figure is the “Hide-and-Seek with Fan”. The girl hold and open fan with
right hand. Point right foot in front and cover face with fan. The boy-point right
and left foot alternately in front and look at partner from underneath the fan,
hands on waist.
 The 5th figure is “Kneeling and Fanning”. Take three steps forward to the
center. Girl kneels while boy passes around on right of girl to stand behind her
and faces the same direction as girl. Boy points right and left foot four times
alternately in front, looking at girl over her right and left shoulder alternately. Girl
looks at partner over her right and left shoulder alternately.
 The 6th figure is “Hide-and-Seek with Handkerchief”. Partners meet at the
center as in figure II. Boy takes handkerchief at corners in a perpendicular
position between their faces with boy’s hands on top at face level.
 The 7th figure is “Flirting with Handkerchief”. Partners turn right shoulders
toward each other. Starting with right foot, take eight waltz steps forward,
moving around clockwise. Girl holds handkerchief at one corner and place it over
her right and left shoulder alternately at every measure, looking back at the boy
at the same time. Boy, in the meantime, follows behind girl, stretching out right
and left hand alternately, as though they were trying to catch the free end of the
handkerchief.
 The 8th and last figure is “Flirting”. Start by taking two waltz steps to meet at
the center. With girl leading in front, partners take six waltz steps forward
moving around clockwise.

Carinosa Props

Female carinosa dancers often use fans. If

you're the female dancer, you open your fan
by giving it a firm shake. Once it's open,
simply fan yourself to the music, matching
each downward movement of the fan with one
beat in the three-beat bar. The handkerchief
hide-and-seek is a key element of carinosa.
Each partner holds two corners of the handkerchief and stand facing each other,
holding the handkerchief so it blocks the view of the other partner's face. On the
first beat of the three-beat musical bar, both partners lean to the right side and
peek at each other around the handkerchief. They hold for a beat, then, on the
third and final beat of the bar, they return to an upright position, holding the
handkerchief so it is blocking the faces again.
On the first beat of the next bar, the partners flip the handkerchief while
still holding it, so if one partner had been hol
ding the top two corners, he's now holding the bottom two corners, or vice
versa. As they do so, they lean to the side and peek at the other partner around
the handkerchief again. This series of movements continues for six bars in total;
for the last two bars of the eight-bar section, the partners switch places by
waltzing around each other while still holding the
handkerchief. This entire sequence repeats. The
hide-and-seek sequence can be performed with a
fan instead of a handkerchief. The female dancer of
the carinosa pair holds her skirt with one or both
hands, pinching the fabric of the skirt with the
thumb and forefinger, at the side, at about mid-
thigh level.

CARINOSA DANCE IMAGES