Christopher M. Muan 1ME1 Tinikling The tinikling is one of the most popular and well-known of traditional Philippine dances.

The tinikling is a pre-Spanish dance from the Philippines that involves two people beating, tapping, and sliding bamboo poles on the ground and against each other in coordination with one or more dancers who step over and in between the poles in a dance. The name is a reference to birds locally known as tikling, which can be any of a number of rail species; the termtinikling literally means "tikling-like." The dance originated in Leyte among the Visayan islands in the central Philippines as an imitation of the tikling bird dodging bamboo traps set by rice farmers. The dance imitates the movement of the tikling birds as they walk between grass stems, run over tree branches, or dodge bamboo traps set by rice farmers. Dancers imitate the tikling bird's legendary grace and speed by skillfully maneuvering between large bamboo poles. Maglalatik The Maglalatik is an indigenous dance from the Philippines in which coconut shell halves that are secured onto the dancers' hands and on vests upon which are hung four or six more coconut shell halves. The dancers - all male - perform the dance by hitting one coconut shell with the other - sometimes the ones on the hands, sometimes, the ones on the body, and sometimes the shells worn by another performer, all in time to a fast drumbeat. Like many native Filipino dances, it is intended to impress the viewer with the great skill of the dancer, and in some Filipino Martial Arts (FMA) circles, it has been noted that the manlalatik "consists of a trapping and boxing method hidden in a dance." The name of the dance comes from the Filipino word "Latik", which means "fried coconut milk curd", a coconut product that is used in Filipino cooking, particularly in snacks. Pandanggo sa ilaw Pandanggo sa Ilaw is a popular dance of grace and balance from Lubang Island, Mindoro in the Visayas region. This particular pandanggo requires skill in balancing three lighted oil lamps or tinghoy, one on the head and at the palms of each hand. It is characterized by lively steps and clapping that varies in rhythm in 3/4 time. The lights of the lamps are said to represent fireflies that are fluttering in the night. Versions of Pandaggo

Pandanggo ivatan - Performed during wedding celebrations in Batanes

Source: http://en.wikipilipinas.org

Pandanggo arikenken - Performed in Ilocos Norte where it is danced in pairs Pandanggo rinconada - Performed during Christmas Season by the young and old in Camarines Sur Pandanggo sa sambalilo - Performed with hats, instead of oil lamps Pandanggo sa pao - Performed with handkerchiefs Pandanggo sa tapis - Performed with overskirts

Cariosa This flirtatious dance called Cariosa is known throughout the Philippines. Cariosa ('kah-reehn-YOH-sah') means affectionate, lovable, or amiable. With a fan or handkerchief, the dancers go through hide-and-seek movements and other flirting acts expressing tender feelings for one another. There are many versions of this dance, but the hide-and-seek movements are common in all. The Cariosa was also very popular in Samar where it is called Pandanggyado Cariosa or simply Pandanggyado in' Samar. A cariosa from Bicol discovered by Ramon Obusan in Rapu-rapu, Albay is a very unique song-dance or sayawit. The hide-and-seek uses a folding fan rather than the common prop: handkerchief. A very unique Bicolnon dance step called binanog is prominent throught the dance where it was originally used as an intermission. Singkil Singkil (or Sayao sa Kasingkil) is a famous Philippine dance of the Maguindanao people, but was popularized by the nearby Maranao peoples of Lake Lanao and later the Bayanihan Philippine National Folk Dance Company. Also known as the Princess Dance or the Royal Maranao Fan Dance, the dance is based on the Maguindanao and Maranao interpretation of the ancient Indian epic, the Ramayana: the Darangen. The Singkil narrates a scene in which Sita (Putri Gandingan) escapes her abductor, the demon king Ravana and is lost in the forests of Alangka, thereupon being found by her husband, Prince Rama. Interesting to note is that in the original Ramayana epic, Rama selects Hanuman, the Hindu monkey-god, to find Sita on his behalf; the fact that in the Singkil it is Rama (Rajah Bantugan) who finds her suggests a modification of the original Hindu narration in order to agree withmonotheistic Islamic ideology. Kasingkil refers to the art of moving ones feet in and out of two clicking bamboo poles in imitation of Putri Gandingan who gracefully avoided the falling trees brought about by an earthquake. The dance is said to have been named after either the leg bracelets or anklets of silver, nickel or brass with chiming bells of the same name or the act of voluntarily or accidentally entangling on ones feet in either vines or tall grass. This dance is one that all royal princesses in the Sulu archipelago are expected to learn to this day.

Source: http://en.wikipilipinas.org