• History of Philippine Dances

The history of Philippine dances is very colorful infact we filipinos are very cultural, we are very active in festivals and we pay tribute in our traditional dances. Most of our dances were originally patterned after European dances during the spanish time just like the known dances in our country: the Pandango sa Ilaw- the word pandango comes from the spanish dance"fandango" which is characterized with lively steps and clapping while following a varying /4 beat. This dance which originated from Lubang island, Mindoro, requires exellent balancing skill to maintain the stability of three tinggoy, or oil lamps, placed on head and at the back of each hand; Cariñosa- is a word that describes an affectionate, friendly and lovable woman. This very known dance is performed in flirtatious manner with fans and handkerchiefsto assist the dancers'hide-and-seek movements; Rigodon- this dance is commonly performed at formal affairs like inaugural balls where prominent memebers of the government participate and enjoy; Tinikling- is considered the national folkldance witha pair of dancers hopping between two bamboo poles held just above the ground and struck together in time to music. Originated from Leyte Province. They say that this dance is a mimic movements of birds called tikling that is hopping over the trees. And for the dancers, they perform this dance with grace and speed jumping between bamboo poles. Aside from this dances, ethnic-created dances such as Tinikling made its way to recognize nationwide. Even if most of our Philippine dances are adopted to spanish dances sill we have our own style to made it our own. some of this ethnic dances are: Banog- in this dance, performers portray hunters sheilding their chickens from the famishing hawk; Lumagen- in Klinga, Cordillera. This tribal dance is a traditional thanksgiving dance by the Kalinga tribe performed to celebrate good harvest and etc; Burung- Talo- in Sulu. The dance is a fighting dance in a form of martial arts by the Tausug tribe.