Visayas Dances - ( see pictures in the side bar ) * Dance : Sayaw Sa Banko This dance is native to the barrio of Pangapisan, Lingayen, Pangasinan, and demands skill from its performers who must dance on top of a bench roughly six inches wide. * Dance : Tinkling Tinnikling is considered the national folkdance with a pair of dancers hopping between two bamboo poles held just above the ground and struck together in time to music. Originated from Leyte Province, this dance is in fact a mimic movement of “tikling birds” hopping over trees, grass stems or over bamboo traps set by farmers. Dancers perform this dance with remarkable grace and speed jumping between bamboo poles. * Dance : Subli The term “subli” is from two tagalog words “subsub” meaning falling on head and “bali”, which means broken. Hence, the dancers appear to be lame and crooked throughout the dance. This version is originally a ritual dance of the natives of Bauan, Batangas, which is shown during fiestas as a ceremonial worship dance to the town’s icon, the holy cross * Dance : Maglalatik Originally performed in Binan, Laguna as a mock-war dance that demonstrates a fight between the Moros and the Christians over the prized latik or coconut meat during the Spanish rule, this dance is also shown to pay tribute to the town’s patron saint, San Isidro Labrador. It has a four-part performance such as the palipasan and the baligtaran showing the intense battle, the paseo and the escaramusa- the reconciliation. Moro dancers wear read trousers while the Christian dancers show up in blue. All dancers are male; with harnesses of coconut shells attached on their chests, backs, thighs and hips
Sinulog (Cebuano word for "carried along by the current") is believed to have originated from a ritual dance for a pagan deity who was fished out from the sea. It was later Hispanized and transformed into a dance of worship for the Santo Niño. There are many types of sinulog dances. The simplest, least acculturated, and perhaps the purest form of ritual prayer is what has been called the tindera sinulog. Performed on the patio of the Santo Niño Basilica, it is danced by women candle peddlers on behalf of devotees who buy candles from them as an offering for petitions or for thanksgiving. Performed to a silent, resilient beat, the dancer performs this supplicatory dance with no formal costume or audience. There are three distinct phases in this ritual dance. There is first an introductory rite wherein the dancer takes an erect stance and raises the offering of candles toward the image of the Santo Niño. The dancer then recites a prayer. As soon as the prayer is uttered, the dancer performs the gently bouncing sinulog movement. The bouncy movement is restrained and almost pious, originating from the torso and seeming to flow to the limbs in gentle, wave-like motions. The dance closes with another prayer. An elaborate version of the sinulog, called troupe sinulog, is said to exhibit a "masculine" style of dancing -- one that is more convulsive and energetic than the feminine tindera style. This version features jumping, hopping, and arm gestures that resemble fighting. It also calls for drum accompaniment. (Source: Cebu, More than an Island. 1997, Ayala Foundation, Inc., Philippines; 279pp.)
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Gapnod (Cebuano for "flotsam") is a worship dance popular among the people of Negros Oriental. It is a reenactment of the discovery by a fisherman of the image of St. Anthony of Padua, the patron saint of the town of Sibulan, Negros Oriental. The dance is one of rejoicing and merrymaking that ends in a fluvial procession along the coast. (Source: Folk Culture of the Central Visayas [Kalinangan Series 2], 1986, Instructional Materials Corporation, Philippines; 194pp.)
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The Surtido Cebuano is a square dance said to have originated in Bantayan, Cebu. It is a cobbling together of Spanish, Mexican, and French influences along with indigenous elements. Surtido (literally, assortment) is performed by several pairs of dancers, with the head pair called cabeceras and the side pairs, costados, guiding the other dancers in varied quadrille formations. It used to be a dance of long duration performed by a big group to the tune of beautiful Visayan folk airs. The modern arrangement is more lively and suitable for dancing by small groups. Back to Top Back to Regional Cultures Page
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La Berde (literally, green) is a courtship dance from a mountain settlement in Talamban, Cebu. In a series of quick steps and quick changes, the dance celebrates what is lush and full of life. The dance is performed by an interesting cast of two girls and a boy, instead of the usual pair of dancers.
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Kuradang, also known as curacha, is a lively wedding dance popular in Bohol, where it is performed to the accompaniment of a rondalla, an ensemble of string instruments. The dance is performed in three parts, with three different rhythms. The dancing couple starts the performance with a ballroom waltz. Then the music shifts to a faster beat for the "chasing" scene, in which the female dancer flees and the male pursues her all across the dance floor.
Vera-Reyes Inc. Philippines, 1978
The tempo picks up even more for the final part, in which the chase ends with a furiously flirtatious scene. The female is won over, and the male imitates a flamboyant bird in a mating dance. Back to Top Back to Regional Cultures Page
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Itik-Itik is a mimetic dance that depicts the movements of wading and flying itik (ducks). Dancers mimic the short swaying gait of waddling feet and the intense energy of close-cropped flapping wings.
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<* The mimetic dance Mananagat (Cebuano for "fisherman") depicts fishermen at sea. Dancers in long-line formations mimic women scooping water from the banca (canoe) with bamboo shells and men wielding wooden paddles. Back to Top Back to Regional Cultures Page
>* Mananguete (coconut wine tapper) reenacts the stages of making tuba (coconut wine). The dance starts with movements that mimic the sharpening of the sanggot (scythe) and then proceeds to the cleaning of the kawit (bamboo container), climbing of the coconut tree, extracting of the sap, and finally, tasting of the tuba.
Philippine Airlines, 1990
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Ohong is the Cebuano word for "mushroom" and the mimetic dance OhongOhong features rapid twirling movements by women dressed in long, billowy skirts with layers of petticoats visually representing mushrooms. The dance is a celebration of the onset of rains and of bountiful harvests. Back to Top Back to Regional Cultures Page
