Folk Dances

- Dances that are developed and performed together by ordinary people

- Includes: ceremonial, combative, courtship, exorcism, funeral, game, torture, comic, and religious
dances.
 Courtship and Wedding Dances
Courtship dance
- a ceremonial dance which involves the male pursuing the female.
- Typically performed during special occasions
- Examples: kumintang and kuratsa.

Wedding Dances
- Performed by the newlyweds
- Performance aims to celebrate relationships that have been newly-formed by the couple, their
families and relatives
- Examples: mascota (Gagayan and Isabela), and Pantomina in Bicol
 Game Dances
- Usually acted for fun, but have a set of rules and structure
- Usually done in informal social gatherings
- These dances are played to test the skills of the dancers
 Martial Dance
- Combative in nature and is used to enact battle
- May exhibit unarmed execution or confrontation using arms or weapons.
- Example: langka of Samal
 Mimetic Dance
- Aim to imitate actual or real-life movements
- May be categorized into animal dances and occupational dances (portrays everyday activities in
the community
 Ritual Dancing
- Involves dancing to spiritual beings and gods.
 Social Dancing
- Primarily performed to celebrate important milestones in life, and to mark harvests
- Also performed among Christians as a way of commemorating the feast of patron saints or visit of
personages
- Examples: balse, escotis, habanera, jota, lanceros, polka, rigodon de honor and subli.
 Song Dance
- A dance performed to a song, which typically describes history and traditions of a community
- Involves acting out the meaning of the song using gestures and movements.
- Examples: balitaw and lunsay

Ballet
- A theatrical dance presentation in which a plot is integrated with dancing, music, and stage
designs
- Defined as the style and technique of dancing strictly based on a theatrical dance school
- Is further classified into the following:
  Modern ballet
- Utilizes the technique and style of classical ballet in portraying contemporary content
- Techniques may be adapted in modern ballet, such as bound and rebound, and contraction and
release. May also use natural movement
 Opera ballet
- Dance within the context of an opera
- Rock opera ballet – began in the 1970’s, is an offshoot of the opera ballet
 Folkloric Ballet
- Involves stylizing and editing stories, motifs, and styles found in the culture of ordinary people,
and adapting this material to contemporary theater
Moden Dance
- Dance form that emerged during the 20th century
- Considered theatrical but it veers away from the technique and style of ballet

Other Forms
Aerobic Dance
- Primarily dancing to the tune of popular music with the purpose of increasing consumption of
oxygen over a long period of time
Bodabil Dancing
- Include the popular dances of United States, and Philippine folk dances
- When combined mime, singing ballads, and acrobatics, offers a perception of life during those
times in a satirical way
- Popularity of these vaudeville act became confined in provincial fiestas and in television and radio
variety shows
Jazz Dance
- Uses African dance techniques like isolation of individual human body parts, rhythm, and
polycentrism
- Later movements from the other social dances were fuse
Polynesian and Tahitian Dances
Tap Dance
- Dance which entails tapping with toes and heels to generate rhythm patterns