Lesson 3

PERFORMANCE PRACTICES

GETTING STARTED
Filipinos are known throughout the world not only for being warm and loving
people but also for being talented and creative. Many Filipino artists have already made

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a name in the international stage and competitions as individuals and group performers
like Lea Salonga, Charice Pempenco, El Gamma Penumbra, the Loboc Choir of Bohol, to

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name a few.

WARMING UP se
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Do you know any song or dance that is now widely known in the country that has
been popularized by a particular community?
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Can you name individuals or group performers in your locality who have won an
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award in the national or international competitions?

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TUNING IN
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Music
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Music is in the blood of the Filipinos. Even before the Spaniards came, the
inhabitants of this island nation already played various musical instruments found in their
respective regions such as flutes, kulintang, kudyapi of the Manobo and T’boli, tongali,
kubing, gambal or gadang of the lumads in the Visayan region. Songs and dances are
performed in festive occasion.
The coming in of the colonizers further enhanced the Filipinos’ love for songs and
dances. The locals learned to play the piano, organ, accordion, violin, harp, drums, and
other musical instruments introduced by the new settlers. The Filipinos also embraced

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different music genres; however, many of the folk songs and dances have remained intact
all over the country.

Kubing – a jaw harp made with bamboo Kulintang – a set of 5 to 9 pieces of

gongs that vary in size and sound.

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Kudyapi – a stringed wooden lute that’s about 4-6 ft. long
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Tongali – a noseflute found all over the Philippines Gambal – war drums made
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with hollowed out tree trunks

and deer skin for drumheads.
Source from: www.topten.ph/2016/04/27/10-traditional-filipino-musical-instruments/
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The contemporary Filipino music features many styles such as the Pop (popular)
songs, Pop rock, Hip-hop, Alternative rock, R & B (Rhythm & Blues), Jazz, Metallic rock,
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Acoustic, Ballad, Adult Contemporary Music, and Experimental Classical Music.

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Dance
Most regions in the Philippines have their local folk dances. Among the most
popular of these Philippine folk dances are Tinikling, Pandango, and Carinosa. In Region
VI or Western Visayas, two of the known folk dances are “Tiksiw” and “Paseo de Iloilo”.

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 Source: https://web.facebook.com/TheAkeanon/posts/10152713950133098?_rdc=1&_rdr

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"Tiksiw" is a Philippine folk dance that originated in the farthest town of

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Buruanga, a province of Aklan, Panay Island. Tiksiw is a playful dance characterized by
jumps, leaps, or hops. It imitates the actions or movements of a person who is surprised
or happy.

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Paseo de Iloilo was the most sophisticated courtship and flirtation dance of the
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Spanish Era. This dance portrays the men competing against each other in order to win
the heart of a young lady.

During festivals around the country, dances in honor of a patronal saint, the Sto.
Niño, or featuring the major product of the region, are performed on the streets or in
shopping malls nowadays. To name a few, these dances are sinulog, ati-atihan,
Dinagyang, Kadayawan, Caracol, Guling-Guling, Turumba, Sayaw sa Obando, and many
more.

Neo Filipino, a dance platform for Filipino choreographers, stages Philippine

contemporary dances collaborated with other art forms such as music, visual arts,

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literature, theater, and film. These choreographers experimented on rhythmic
movements showcasing contemporary life and culture in the Philippines that reveal,
question, inquire, and challenge the country’s identity, bold insights, and fresh facets of
the 21st century Filipino using the language of dance” (Theater Fans Manila, 2016, p.1).

Theater
The Philippine theater began during the Spanish period. Most of the
performances were religious in nature. The “Cenaculo” and “Pasyon” featured the
suffering and death of Jesus. They were performed during the lent season. Today, stage
plays have come a long way. Schools and colleges around the country have organized

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their own theater groups. Some of these school-based theater groups are Teatro Amakan
of the University of the Philippines in the Visayas, Sining Kambayoka of the Mindanao

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State University and Teatro, Sining, Atbp. of Central Philippine University in Iloilo City,
province of Iloilo. The theater is an avenue in which students may showcase their talents
in acting, singing and dancing.

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