Philippine dance

The Paseo and Chotis

The paseo or promenade was a favorite pastime of the elite, where upper class ladies tried to outdo one another in donning their best finery. Eventually, the paseo became a dance, and gave birth to many diffe- rent local versions. The paseo de bicol from Oas, Albay is adapted from the paseo. During the celebration called aurora (dawn), the old people gather in the church to pray for a good harvest or to overcome impending calamities, while the young folks promenade with their loved ones around the church or in the churchyard. The dancers use a variety of steps in the dance: the waltz step, the waltz turn, the change steps, the sway balance with a waltz, and the three steps and a point. For this dance, the girls wear the traditional Bicol costume, the patadyong, and ca-

SPANISH COLONIAL TRADITION

misa with butterfly sleeves. A folded soft paftuelo hangs on the left shoulder. The boys wear the barong tagalog or camisa de chino and colored trousers. Another dance that may be considered a paseo is the andaluz de negros where a lady encounters and relates to four gentlemen as she strolls around. Ballroom dancing became even more popular with the arrival of the escotis or chotis, a derivation of the foreign schottische, one of the oldest European dances. Many say it is Germanic in origin; other say it came from Poland and was brought to the Philippines in the 1850s. Performed as a ballroom dance during social gather- ings, the escotis of Capiz and Aklan uses the step, close, step, hop, step, pattern of the European schottische, while the chotis of Camarines Sur uses the localized version-the step, brush, step, brush, step, step, step, pause. The music is similar to the polka but played a little slower. Many say the dance is a mixture of polka and a slow waltz. Like the chotis de negros, the escotis from Capiz and Aklan can also be danced in informal social gatherings; hence the patadyong and kimona or camisa with butterfly sleeves may be used by the women, and the camisa de chino and dark trousers by the men. The chotis dingrefta from Dingras, Ilocos Norte, is a dance of the elite. Being formal, it uses a serpentina skirt with a train and stiff camisa and paftuelo. It is interesting to note that the escotis is still popular among the people inhabiting the mountains of Capiz, particularly in Panitan and Tapas. It was and still is an interesting practice of the people there to test the durability and strength of a newly built house by performing the dance at its housewarming. This is because the dance makes use of hops in a fast tempo.

The Surtidos

"Surtido" means assorted and refers to dances which combine movements from different dances. The polkabal acquired its name from two popular dances, the polka and the balse. The composite name was given to this lively dance by the people of Atimonan, Quezon. Among the interesting steps used are the luksong uwak, ensayo, contra-gansa, and punta y tacon. On the other hand, the mazurka valse from Negros Occidental is a combination of the mazurka and the balse steps; the jotabal from Gumaca, Quezon combines the jota and the balse. The name pasakat from Santa Rosa, Laguna is the corruption of the original French pas de quatre or paseo de cuatro. This French ballroom dance was in- troduced in the Philippines during the latter part of the 19th century.

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When no name could be given to a dance because of the combination of many dance steps and music, the term surtido was also used. There are many regional versions of this dance. There is the surtido norte from Ilocos Norte, which combines the different steps and music of the Ilocos region. It also uses the half-closed fist movement called the kumintang. From Bantayan, Cebu comes the beautiful surtido cebuano. Originally danced like the rigodon in square formation with cabeceras and costados, it is sometimes performed in sets of two pairs. The dance is composed of a variety of steps danced to a medley of Visayan airs.

Epilogue

A good number of the dances with Hispanic influ- ence still exist today. Many are still performed in their original form while some have been modified, accord- ing to native taste or convenience. In Paranaque, dur- ing Easter Sunday, the bate is danced for the salubong which reenacts the meeting of the Virgin and the Risen Christ. In Batangas, the subli is still performed by men and women to honor the Santa Cruz, patron of Bauan. In Bicol, the pantomina is danced in social gatherings, particularly during wedding celebrations, just as the pastores is performed by groups of about 13 men and women in "shepherd" costumes during the Christmas season. In the eastern part of the Visayas, the kuratsa is still very much a part of merrymakings. In Pakil, Laguna, the turumba is sung and danced by devotees during the procession of the Nuestra Senora de los Dolores while in Obando, Bulacan, people dance to petition the Nuestra Senora de Salambao, Santa Clara, and San Pascual Bailon for a spouse or a child. Finally, many formal gatherings today still feature the stately rigodon. But the folk dance does not only exist in their origin- al setting today. They have also become popular in the past few decades because they have been documented by researchers and are now being performed by profes- sional dance companies as well as students in school. Research on Philippine folk dances was started by Frandsca Reyes-Aquino (then Tolentino) in 1931. With University of the Philippines (UP) Pres Jorge Bocobo's thrust towards documentation of folk music and dance, Reyes-Aquino, Antonino Buenaventura, and other facul- ty researchers embarked on a wide-scale documentation of traditional folk songs and dances. These dances were later published by Reyes-Aquino in her six-volume work entitled Philippine Folk Dances which has become the principal source book for folk dance scholars and teachers.

After Reyes-Aquino, the other scholars who did their own researches were Libertad V. Fajardo who published her study on Visayan dances; Juan Miel and Petronila Suarez who focused on the dances of Samar and Iloilo, respectively; Jovita Sison-Friese who work- ed on the dances from Pangasinan; Teresita Ines- Pascua who published her studies on Ilocano dances; Jose Balcena who documented the dances from Capiz; Ligaya Fernando-Amilbangsa who did extensive re- search on the pangalay of the Sulu area. Outstanding and pioneering research was also done by the artistic directors of the foremost folk dance companies in the country, specifically, by Bayanihan's Lucrecia Reyes- Urtula, Barangay's Paz Cielo Angeles-Belmonte, and Ramon Obusan of the Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group. There are also a few others who studied Philip- pine folk dances but due to financial constraints could not do consistent research. Inspired by these researches, many folk dance groups were formed to showcase the dances outside their places of origin. In 1937 Reyes-Aquino formed the UP Folk Song-Dance Club and the Filipiniana Dance Troupe. In 1949, the Philippine Folk Dance Soci- ety, a group composed of teachers all over the country was organized, also by Reyes-Aquino. Soon after, companies were established which presented these folk dances as theater. The Barangay Dance Company was founded in the Philippine Normal College by Reyes-Aquino's student, Paz Cielo Angeles-Belmonte in June 1947. The Bayanihan Philippine Dance Com- pany was formed in the Philippine Women's Universi- ty in 1957, and since then has introduced Philippine folk dances to audiences around the world. The Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group was founded by for- mer Bayanihan dancer-researcher Ramon Obusan in September 1972, and is now one of the leading folk dance companies in the country. Other notable com- panies are those based in the UP, Far Eastern Universi- ty, University of Santo Tomas, University of the East, and Mindanao State University in Marawi. While the presentations of these dance companies are largely theatrical and stylized, with glittering costumes and elaborate props, they still succeed in showcasing and popularizing Philippine culture through dance. The interest in folk dance grows stronger today, not only because of the growing number of folk dance companies formed over the past decades, but also be- cause folk dance has become part and parcel of the education curriculum in alllevel5----€lementary, secon- dary, and tertiary. Scholars all over the country almost always include folk dances in their activities, prog- rams, and projects. Moreover, folk dance teachers have kept alive through the years the Philippine Folk

Dance Society formed by Reyes-Aquino in 1949. Final- ly, the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), with its thrust towards developing and promoting a nationalist culture, has instituted annual folk dance workshops at the Folk Arts Theater, and folk dance workshops and performances by different companies (including its resident companies, the Bayanihan and the Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group) in CCP venues and all over the country. The CCP has also given awards to artistic directors of outstanding folk dance companies, folk dance researchers, and artists. Finally, in the current search for a Filipino idiom in dance, contemporary choreographers have gone back to folk dance for inspiration. Some of the works which have used folk dance types or movements are: Leon or Orosa-Goquingco' s Filipinescas: Life, Legend and lore in Dance; Anita Kane's Inulan sa Pista (Rained-out Feast); Julie Borromeo's Zagalas de Ma- nila (Manila Maidens in Procession); Alice Reyes' Amada, and Bungkos (Bundle); Antonio Fabella's Noche Buena (Christmas Eve Celebration); Eddie Elejar's Rigodon Sketches, Corazon Generoso-Ifugo's Baile de Ayer (Dance of Yesterday) and Sisa; Basilio's

SPANISH COLONIAL TRADITION

FOLK DANCE GROUP. The Spanish tradition In Philippine dance Is showcased In the regular performances ol the Bayanlhan Philippine Dance Company. (Cultural Center of the Philippines Ubrary Collecffon)

Tropical Tapestry; Gener Caringal's Recuerdos (Memories); Brando Miranda's Lawang Paoay (Paoay Lake); Lydia Madarang-Gaston's Anak-Bulan (Moon Child); and Felicitas Layag-Radaic's Tanan (Elope- ment) and May Day Eve. • L. Reyes-Urtula, P.M. Arandez, N.G. Tiongson

References: Alejandro 1972, 1978; Banas 1975; Bayanihan 1987; Bocobo-Olivar 1972; Colin 1903 in Blair and Robertson XL; Education and Sports in the Philippines 1974; Fajardo 1961-1975; Mallat 1846 in Blair and Robertson XLV; Miel1973; Orosa-Goquingco 1980; Palma 1968-1972; Pascua-Ines 1973; Pfeiffer 1975; Pigafetta ca 1525 in Blair and Robertson XXXIII; Philippine Folk Dances and Songs 1966; Reyes-Aquino 1953-1975; Reyes-Tolentino 1946; Roces 1980; Villaruz 1977; Ylanan and Ylanan 1974.

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THE AMERICAN COLONIAL AND CONTEMPORARY TRADITIONS

In the Treaty of Paris of 1898, Spain ceded the Philippines for 20 million dollars to the United States, then a young nation dreaming of international power. As the year turned, the Philippine revolution against Spain became the Philippine-American War. By 1901, the Americans had defeated the Filipinos, although sporadic resistance to the American occupation con- tinued well into the century. In the half-century of direct American rule from 1901 to 1946 and the half-century of the continued American presence in the country, America intro- duced major changes in the political, economic, educa- tional, and cultural sectors. In dance, America made its presence felt in bodabil dancing, ballet, modern dance, folk, and social dancing; that presence con- tinues today, influencing the evolution of dance and media forms.

Bodabil Dancing

In the first years of this century, vaudeville enter- tained both Filipinos and American expatriates. Min- strel troupes sailed across the Pacific and did their buck-and-wing, clog or tap dances (both of Irish and African origin), soft-shoe, and straightforward jazz and blues routines. Other Americans introduced the skirt dance and pseudo-orientalia or exotic (also called aesthetic) dancing, enthralling audiences at the Teatro Zorrilla, Teatro Libertad, Teatro Paz (formerly the Orpheum), Teatro Filipino, Alhambra and Cosmopoli- tan, which had earlier hosted mostly sarswela. People later flocked to the new vaudeville novelty houses, such as the Savoy Nifties (later the Clover), the Rivoli (later the Tivoli), and the Serena (later the Lux). The companies of Ratia and Carvajal continued to draw crowds to the Spanish zarzuela, while troupes led by Hermogenes Hagan, Severino Reyes, and Florentino Ballecer packed Manila theaters with their original sarswela. Meanwhile, the sarswela flourished in the Ilocano, Bicol, Ilongo, and Cebuano regions. Like the comedia or moro-moro that lived on with its combat dance or batalla between Christians and Mus- lims, the sarswela took on more combative and subver- sive forms during the American and Japanese periods. If Tony Pastor was the "father of American vaude- ville," John C. Cowper, who came to the Philippines

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AMERICAN COLONIAL AND CONTEMPORARY TRADITIONS

decade of this century, Sunday Reantaso founded the first Philippine Vaudeville Company. Sarswela stars like Atang de Ia Rama ("Queen of the Kundiman") joined Katy de Ia Cruz ("Queen of Jazz" and the "Carmen Miranda of the Philippines") on the bodabil stage. With the advent of the movies, Hollywood musicals left their mark on the bodabil. Writing in 1929, one John Maynard compared bodabil favorably to the American product, describing Buster Dunson at the Savoy as "a clever and versatile dancer." Dunson trained the famous Garcia Sisters, Flo and Modesta, and designed costumes for shows. Maynard called Katy de Ia Cruz "the greatest favorite of Manila variety," naming her "the Sophie Tucker of the Philippines." There were singer-dancers like Toy- Toy, Leonora Reyes, Elizabeth "Dimples" Cooper, Vitang Escobar, Nazarina Farias, Carmen "Miami" Salvador (with her "hula wiggle that is entirely un- equalled by any other local performer''), and the Garcia Sisters who formed with Dunson a "three-cornered combination [that was] the best dancing act Manila has ever had." In Philippine Magazine, Maynard enthused, "There is a dainty nymph-like grace and beauty about those tiny Malay figures possessed by no other race in the world. They are quick in learning their routines, and are natural dancers" (Maynard Oct 1929). When the Japanese occupied the country from 1942 to 1945, they banned American films; Filipino

movie production also ground to a halt. Bodabil, which was then already dying "in the dingy houses on Echague where it was making a last stand," as Nick Joaquin wrote, "returned in triumph" to Manila's big theaters Ooaquin 1990). Joe Climaco was the first to stage a show during the Japanese occupation. People queued for hours in the morning, as they did for food and most other things, before the theaters opened at noon for the three shows of the day. Various conglo- merations sprouted, such as Salvador's Merrymakers, Sammy Rodriguez and Lamberto A vellana' s Philip- pine Artists' League, Climaco and Ramon Estella's Fili- pinas Revue, Ruben and Corazon Roque's Stage Re- vue, Jose Generoso's Stage Revue, and Fernando Poe's production outfit. Salvador staked out the Dalisay, Strand, and Palace; Rodriguez and Avellana, the Avenue; the Roques, the Lyric; Climaco, the Life; Generoso, the State; and Poe, the Capitol. It was dur- ing this period that bodabil expanded to include the "drama" as its main attraction in the end, and was renamed stage show. After Japan's defeat, Salvador staged "a mam- moth stage show" at the Apolo for 40 days (Rodriguez 1958). It featured the biggest stars like Rogelio de Ia Rosa and Carmen Rosales, choreography by Zarah, and the orchestras of Climaco and Fred Carpio. Throughout WWII, two leading folk dancers, Patria Panajon and Lucio Sandoval, danced under Avellana's

BOOABIL Among the many fonns of entertainment Introduced by the Americans Is the bodabil which featured song and dance rouHnes and comedy skits as well. Shown Is a dance rehearsal of the Manila Grand Opera House. Manila, co 1950. (Lopez Museum Co//ec#on)

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direction at the Avenue in such productions as Pista ng Bayan (Town Fiesta). At the Metropolitan, Sando- val choreographed dances for the opera, like the Rigoletto in 1943. Other dancers and dance directors included Aida Gonzalez and Paz Cielo Angeles- Belmonte. The Volunteer Social Aid Committee orga- nized Musical Theater at the Metropolitan, with Paul Szilard staging some dances. After WWII, variety or stage shows were fea- tured jointly with the movies at the Manila Grand Opera House and Clover. Noted performers like Bayani Casimiro and Nieves Manuel (the "Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers of the Philippines") danced along- side diva Conching Rosal and Cebu's torch singer, Pilita Corrales. Other noted dancers were Paquito Bolero and Angelita "Rhumba" Rey, the Rusca Brothers (the "tap dancing wizards"), Dandy ("tap- dancing expert" who became the comedian Casmot), Millie Sparks (later called Lopita), Rosa Aguirre, and Metring David. Chichay and Patsy both started as chorus girls, while Chiquito and Dolphy were remark- able dancers, too. There were younger dancers such as Ramon Zamora and Jun Aristorenas (who became film action stars), Arturo Zamora, Shirley Santos, and Marie Cui. De la Cruz's son Aldo Joingco joined Katherine Dunham's company after it performed at the opera house in 1957. Choreographers "Jun" Salvador, Jake (or Jack) Jacinto, Jamin Alcoriza, and Al Quinn formed their own groups. When bodabil declined in the 1960s, theaters like Inday and Art featured burlesque dancing in haba-haba shows, an unsavory term for bodabil, and popular as late as the 1970s in the Dragon and Playboy Theaters. Among the burlesque queens were Virgie Night, Betty Co, Nina White, Jenny Moh, and Carlotta. In the late 1960s, some producers attempted to revive bodabil and variety productions at the Araneta Coliseum and New Frontier. They included Corazon Generoso-Ifrigo, daughter of stage show producer and director Joe Generoso. But the lure of the movies was strong. Generoso-Iftigo, Alcoriza, Quinn, Rally Calvo, and Ruben Nieto all choreographed for the movies. Many stage talents, like dancers Chichay and Dolphy, became movie stars. Soon, love teams Pancho Magalona and Tita Duran, and later, Nestor de Villa and Nida Blanca, were singing and dancing in dream sequences or "barn dances" in the movies. In the 1950s, dancing for TV was the new rage. Among those who led and choreographed for their own groups were Quinn, Lito Calzado, Ernie Estrella, Julie Borromeo, Alice Reyes, Amelia Apolinario, Lally and Terry Aldeguer, and others. There were dance shows in the 1960s like Dance Time with Chito (Feliciano) which

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taught the cha-cha, mambo, twist, and bossa nova, and Penthouse 7 or Penthouse Live in the 1970s and 1980s, following trends set by movies like Saturday Night Fever and later, Dirty Dancing, and holding disco and break dancing contests.

Ballet took its first steps on the bodabil stage. The ''ballet girls" of the visiting troupe coming from Aus- tralia, the Lilliputians, graced the Zorrilla in 1901, per- forming Amber, Housemaids, Seaweed Ballet, Widow Ballet, and Pierrot Ballet. The Japanese Infantile Com- pany opened at Teatro Oriental in Santa Cruz with a '1apanese ballet." In 1902, the Baroufski Imperial Rus- sian Circus performed at the National Cycle Track, adver- tising 25 ''ballet beauties" in dance pantomimes called The Sea Robbers, Faust, and one about the Boer War. The Manila Times described the pantomime as a "mammoth production," adding that "the lovers of lingerie, pink tights and shapely anatomy with really pretty faces were not disappointed when the nightly ballet and pantomime numbers are given [sic]." Circus troupes, like the Barnes and Cogill-Sutton companies, gave performances at the Zorrilla which were "the best that had been given in Manila since many moons." A certain Paul Nijinsky came to Manila in 1915 and 1916, declaring himself a member of the Imperial Russian Ballet in St Petersburg. He performed for the Belgian Red Cross and at the Manila Hotel. Dancing to Chopin, Saint-Saens, Grieg, Wieniawski, and Schubert (a controversial musical approach started by Duncan), Nijinsky attributed his costumes to Serge Diaghilev's own designer, Leon Bakst, danced barefoot, and was assisted by "the best local talents." Anna Pavlova later saw these local talents during her 1922 global tour. Like Sarah Berndhart, she per- formed on vaudeville and music hall stages around the world, popularizing ballet as no other artist had done. Pavlova's performances at the Manila Grand Opera House inspired many a young girl. One of them was Anita Kane, who studied with Katrina Makarova, a refugee from the Russian Revolution and claiming links with the Imperial Russian Ballet in St Petersburg. In Cebu, Fe Sala-Villarica, who later studied with Kane, studied with Mara Selheim, also a Russian. Remedios V. Pinon mentions Olga Dontsoff and Vladimir Bolsky who taught briefly in Ermita. From 1924 to the mid-1930s, the English Kay Williams also ran a studio in Ermita. Among her pupils was the soprano Mercedes Matias-Santiago. Kane later trained further in England and the United States, and started a graded system of teaching in the Philippines.

AMERICAN COLONIAL AND CONTEMPORARY TRADITIONS

Kane produced the first full-length ballet based on a Filipino legend, Mariang Makiling, 1939, and work- ed with Filipino composers such as Ramon Tapales in Mariang Makiling and Marcelino Carluen in Recon- struction Ballet, 1951. Although she produced many Western classics, some of her own works were in- spired by local themes, as in Sweepstakes, 1957; Mutya ng Dagat (Muse of the Sea), 1957; Inulan sa Pista (Rained-out Feast), 1961; Mahjong, 1962; and Aswang (Vampire), 1969. Before she closed her 30-year-old school and migrated to the US, she choreographed some dances for Gintong Salakot (Golden Hat) or Dularawan (Drama-Tableau) that inaugurated the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) in 1969. Kane's troupe, named after her and later called the Pamana Ballet, produced outstanding dancers and direc- tors in the Philippines: Elisa Robles, Angelita Barreda, Julie Roxas, Shirley Santos, Felicitas Layag-Radaic, Maureen Tiongco, Elizabeth Guasch, Julie Borromeo, Serafina Guinto, Effie Naftas, Ester Rimpos, Kristin Jackson, Tony Llacer, El Gabriel, Marcelino Garcia, Rene Dimacali, and Luis Layag. Her ballet troupe was among the first to tour the countryside extensively. Luva Adameit, who was more influential than either Makarova or Kay Williams, graduated from the