BATAAN NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

SPECIAL PROGRAM IN THE ARTS

DANCE 9

I. HOW TO READ THE DANCE DIRECTIONS IN THE TEXT

From the heading and initial paragraph you will learn the name of the dance,
translation of the title if there is any, country of origin or nationality, sometimes
where and when learned and also an interesting background about the dance if there
is any available.

A. FORMATION gives you the number of dancers required for the dance, how they
are placed on the dance area and their starting position.

B. STEPS include all the frequently used steps in the dance. If not described here in
detail, refer to Part 1 of the text.

C. MUSIC gives the meter or time signature of the music used in the dance as 2/4,
3/4, 4/4, 6/8 etc. It is very important to remember that one measure of music in:

a. 2/4 meter has 2 cts or beats and 1 quarter note receives 1 beat.
b. 3/4 meter has 3 cts or beats and 1 quarter note receives 1 beat.
c. 4/4 meter has 4 cts or beats and I quarter note receives 1 beat.
d. 6/8 meter has 6 cts or beats and 1 eight note receives 1 beat.

D. The capital letters show how many parts or sections the music is composed of,
such as A, B, C (also D and E etc. if included).

E. To help you coordinate the movements of any dance with the music which
accompanies each movement, take note of the two columns at the left side of the
directions, consisting of capital letters and numbers.
a) The capital letters which are again given refer to the particular sections or
musical phrase of the music as A, B, C, D, etc.
b) The second column is your guide to the number of measures of the music
which go with each movement of the dance. The A music and the B music
may consist of 8 or 16 measures each. You will note that the particular

MARIA CRISTINA Z. REYES Third Quarter

Teacher III, Dance Specialist Week 2
 BATAAN NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
SPECIAL PROGRAM IN THE ARTS
DANCE 9

direction for a movement may take the full 8 or 16 measures or may only take 1,
2, 4 or 6 measures or any part of the 8 measures with the balance of the 8
measures taken by the next movement of the dance.

So that you won’t be confused by the way foreign books on folk dancing are written
by placing the number of measures on the left side of the instruction, you will find the
total number of measures corresponding to that particular movement, at the last
column on the right side of the directions, as used in our local books on folk dancing.

F. In case something seems to be wrong during the learning of the figure, always
recheck the formation or the figure preceding as to position with partner, direction
were facing or travelling, starting foot, free foot, etc. to see what detail you might
have overlooked.

G. When the abbreviations, positions, dance steps and terms are not described
with the dance, refer to dance terminologies and abbreviations.

MARIA CRISTINA Z. REYES Third Quarter

Teacher III, Dance Specialist Week 2