Philippine dance

AWARDS AND GRANTS

Francisca Reyes-Aquino, 1969; Alice Reyes, 1971; Paz Cielo Angeles-Belmonte, 1971; Bayanihan Philippine Dance Company, 1971; Eddie Elejar and Manalo Rosado, 1972; Lucrecia Reyes-Urtula and Lucrecia Kasilag, 1973; Corazon Generoso-Ifugo, 1975; Isabel A. Santos, 1976; Remedios de Oteyza, 1977; Maniya Barreda and Tina Santos, 1978; Rosalia Merino-Santos, 1979; Ricardo A. Reyes, 1980; Nonoy Froilan, 1983; Antonio Fabella, 1984; Ester Rimpos, 1985;FelicitasLayag-Radaic, 1988;LisaMacuja, 1989; Anna Villadolid, 1991; Ramon Obusan, 1992; and Cecile Sicangco, 1993. The Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) and The Outstanding Women in the Nation's Service (TOWNS) Awards are given to young professionals who have distinguished themselves in their fields. Spon- sored by the Jaycees, TOYM has honored two dancers: Reynaldo Alejandro, 1974, and Maniya Barreda, 1990, both foreign based. The TOWNS has honored dancers Alice Reyes, 1981, and Lisa Macuja, 1989. Although founded in 1977, the Gawad CCP Para sa Sining conferred honors for dance only in 1989. As the principal arts agency of government, the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) confers this annual award to recognize "Filipino artists who have made contributions to their particular form or field." Gawad CCP was given to: Alice Reyes in 1989 for her contributions "in develop- ment of dance as an art form which has fused the Filipino soul with a Western idiom"; Paz Cielo Angeles-Belmonte in 1990 for her contributions "in the promotion of Philip- pine culture and folkways through dance in the physical education curriculum which has instilled a consciousness among Filipino students of their cultural heritage"; the Manunubli ng Sinala in 1991 "for their intuitive mastery of a folk artistic expression, for keeping the Filipino in touch with the ritualistic, mythological, and artistic con- text of their heritage, and for their joyous commitment to promoting a genuinely Filipino tradition"; Maniya Barreda in 1992 "for pursuing the highest standards of excellence in classical ballet"; and Ramon Obusan in 1993 "for his relentless pursuit of excellence in tradi- tional dance and music." The Aliw Foundation gives awards for national and international achievements. Many dance troupes have gained recognition abroad. The Bayanihan was the first, winning the Best Group prize at the Brussels Universal Fair in 1958. It won a string of awards in the US, France, and Argentina. The Filipinescas, FEU, Fili- piniana, and Leyte Kalipayan dance companies have won major prizes in Europe. The Hwa Yi Ethnic Dance Center and Philippine Baranggay Folk Dance Troupe have also been well received abroad. Several ballet dancers have distinguished themselves in international competitions, especially

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ASPECTS

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CHOREOGRAPHY

Choreography is the composition of dance which organizes time and space, words, music, sets, props, lights, and dancers in order to realize a concept or story. Although the term choreography (formerly move- ment notation) did not exist before the late 18th cen- tury, native Filipinos have composed dance through the ages. Tribes invented and taught dances com- munally. Shamans designed and directed rituals where they played special roles. Ritual dances appear improvised, seemingly without beginning, middle or end; but they can also require a set of movements and definite costumes, sets, and props. Spontaneity is ruled by both the purpose and objects of worship. The Philippines has numerous ritual dances, such as the Tinguian gabbok to assure a child's health, the Tagba- nua pagdiwata to plead for a good harvest, and the Mandaya anito baylan to please environmental gods. Among the ethnic communities, mimetic and occupational dances follow the form and style of the subjects or tasks imitated. The Tausug langka baluang imitates a monkey, while the Ifugao paypayto repre- sents birds disturbed from their perch by hunters. The Bilaan imitate closely the movements associated with each stage of rice planting, in the choosing and clear- ing of a field, the digging of the ground with poles, the sowing of the seeds, and finally, the harvest of the rice to the rhythm of the haglong (lute) and gongs. European dances were brought over by soldiers, traders, and priests. Although the pandanggo may still follow the triple time and occasional figures and struc- ture of the Spanish original, it has been adapted to indigenous tastes, dancers, and conditions. Thus, the props used may be lights as in pandanggo sa ilaw or a native hat as in the pandanggo sa sambalilo. The street pandanggo of Obando, Bulacan has adapted a religious feast that may originally have been animistic. Other Tagalog dances are the caracol of Cavite and the turumba of Laguna. In Cebu, the sinulog is still per- formed as a dance-prayer to the Santo Nino.

COMMUNAL DANCING. Improvisation characterizes the ritual dances of the Kallnga. (Batton 1949, American Historical Collection)

European dances remained "purer" among the elite. These include the jota, balse, escotis, mazurka, polka, and rigodon, which all follow set patterns and procedures. The accompaniment is also predeter- mined so that even regional variations, such as the polkabal and mazurka val, are regulated by their music and accepted figures. There are, however, some textural variations specific to Ilocano, Tagalog, or Visayan steps and hand gestures, such as the various styles of the kumintang. American social dances changed Philippine fashions. Bodabil adapted them for stage shows, giv- ing them a semblance of choreographic order. From the charleston to the bossa nova, the dances were popularized by movies and music records. American ethnic dances, such as the clog, tap, and hula, as well as the aesthetic "Orientalism" of Ruth St Denis who visited the Philippines in 1926, left their mark on Philippine popular culture. Later, discotheques en- couraged highly improvisational dances. Ballet, on the other hand, features techniques set over the centuries in Europe and a choreography formulated by Marius Petipa in the 19th century in Russia. Realism, formerly espoused by Jean Georges

CHOREOGRAPHY

Noverre in the 18th century, was revived by Michael Fokine at the beginning of the 20th century, especially through the Serge Diaghilev Ballets Russes. In the 20th century, George Balanchine, whose abstract ballets have influenced world dance, personified neoclassi- cism. In the Philippines, Balanchine's mark is most clearly seen in Remedios de Oteyza' s works, which are set to European concert and symphonic music. The abstract form was given Philippine touches by later choreographers. Julie Borromeo's Zagalas de Manila (Manila Maidens in Procession), Felicitas Layag-Radaic and Julie Borromeo's Mir-i-nisa, Eddie Elejar's Katakata sin Rajah Indarapatra (The Story of Rajah Indarapatra), Basilio's Tropical Tapestry, Bran- do Miranda's Lawang Paoay (Paoay Lake), and Enrico Labayen' s Songs are prominent examples. The freer style of modern dance was at the start even more form oriented. Philippine choreographers were influenced by Louis Horst (who worked closely with Martha Graham), Doris Humphrey, and Hanya Holm (who taught Alice Reyes). Philippine modern dance has been closely tied to Western dance forms. Leonor Orosa-Goquingco stylized folk material in Trend: Return to Native, Noli Dance Suite, and Fili- pinescas: Philippine Life, Legend and Lore in Dance. Rosalia Merino-Santos' What is Dance? lecture- demonstration, itself a compositional lesson, empha- sizes inventiveness. Alice Reyes' works balance form and invention. Adopting a Philippine story, she

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invented her movements, as seen in the stark Amada and Itim Asu (Onyx Wolf), the intricate Company and Carmina Burana, and folkloric At a Maranaw Gather- ing and Bungkos (Bundle). Others followed suit: Cora- zan Generoso-lii.igo's Baile de Ayer (Dance of Yester- day) and Lam-ang, Gener Caringal's Ang Sultan (The Sultan) and Labaw Dunggon, Antonio Fabella's Filipi- no Pop Songs, Denisa Reyes' For the Gods, and Agnes Locsin' s Bagobo and Hinilawod. Folk dance troupe choreographers, such as Lucrecia Reyes-Urtula and Ramon Obusan, stylized ethnic and folk dances for theatrical purposes. By ex- ploring and unifying time (speeding up, retarding, or heightening dynamics), space (enlarging, elaborat- ing, using floor and space patterns), and theme, folk dances become larger than the original yet retain their flavor. However, staged folk dances, ballet, and modern dance restrict themselves to conventional program length and the demands of a marketed theater attendance, which conditions limit choreo- graphic practice to some extent. More recently, choreographers have violated the conventions of the proscenium stage by bringing the action out into the auditorium. Alice Reyes' Company and Tommy brought performers into the audience area, and in the case of the first work, stripped the stage of its usual curtains and legs. Basilio's The Resur- rection of Lazarus used the rising and falling orchestra pit for the climax while his Misa Filipina (Filipino

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Mass) used the church aisle for the procession. Julie Borromeo's version of Benjamin Britten's Noah's Flood had "animals" parading down a cathedral aisle. For Siklo (Cycle), Antonio Fabella, aided by Salvador Bernal, inflated and deflated a symbolic cosmic balloon and drenched the upstage with a waterfall. Labayen stretched the dimensions of performance with his multi- gravitational presentations. Ramon Obusan brought to his folkloric presentations a semblance of ritual time and space, an idea much explored and extended in the New Dance, performance art, and art installations since the 1960s. Since the 1960s, dance groups have performed in museums and outdoors, even on special stages set up in memorial parks and resorts. Dance Theatre Philip- pines adapted its performances to Rizal Park; other groups performed on outdoor stages at Puerta Real, Casa Manila, and Paco Park. Wisnusubroto Sunardi's Ramayana was staged outdoors by the lagoon on the Diliman campus of University of the Philippines (UP). Choreographers have also adapted works for the restricted space of TV. Among these are Julie Borromeo, Amelia Apolinario, Lito Calzada, Douglas Nierras, and younger choreographers of popular and commer- cial dancing. • B.E.S. Villaruz

COMPANIES

A dance company is a body of trained artists who execute and produce dances designed and programmed by directors, choreographers, restagers, choreologists, designers, and other personnel. The dancers may train in a specific technique, school, or style with teachers, and may know more than one kind of dance; they may con- tinue training as they perform. Dancers rehearse and perform the company repertoire, which may consist of both new and classic dances. A primary company is directly linked to its direc- tor's school. Examples are Pamana Ballet, the Hariraya Dance Company, Dance Theatre Philippines (DTP), Dance Concert Company, Manila Metropolis Ballet, Julie Borromeo Dance Company, and Quezon City Ballet. Among these, DTP stood out, as its three founders ran separate schools and the dancers received regular allowan- ces. Some companies, including DTP, Pamana, and Ha- riraya have had boards of trustees who raise funds. Manila Metropolis was supported by its subsidiary, Friends. Some companies are institution based. DTP, for example, performed regularly for the National Parks Development Committee, which subsidized it for 13 years to appear once or twice a month at Rizal Park. The company ran subscribed seasons at the Meralco Theater for two years. It was resident company at the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Music, which supported its dancers and subsidized its uni- versity performers for seven years. In 1987, the five companies mentioned above merged to form Philippine Ballet Theater, complete with trustees, an artistic council, executive board, and office staff. Today, it is a seasonal company at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and rehearses at the Meralco Theater. The Alice Reyes and Modern Dance Company started as a private modern dance organization. With the establishment of the CCP Dance School and annual summer dance workshop, it became a resident com- pany at CCP. It was first named CCP Dance Workshop and Company, then CCP Dance Company, and is now called Ballet Philippines. Its repertoire of both classical ballet and modern dance and its over 20 annual sub- scribed seasons make the company unique in Asia. As a resident company, it is similar to the European com- panies under an intendant, although more indepen- dent with its own board of trustees and other support arms. It also serves for other resident drama and music groups and the outreach programs of the CCP. The Metropolitan Dance Theater (MDT) is bClsed at the Manila Metropolitan Theater. A jazz and mod- ern dance group, it enjoys relative independence

COMPANIES

from the theater administration and maintains its own school. Only MDT and Julie Borromeo's company per- form both jazz and modern dance. Folk dance companies are usually school-based. The Bayanihan Philippine Dance Company is attached to both the Philippine Women's University's (PWU) Bayanihan Folk Arts Center and the CCP. The Barang- gay Philippine Dance Company was formerly based at Philippine Normal College (PNC). The Darangan Cultu- ral Troupe is based at Mindanao State University (MSU) in Marawi, and the Tambuli Cultural Troupe at the MSU in Tawi-tawi. Other major folk dance troupes are the UP Filipiniana Dance Troupe and University of the East (UE) Dance Troupe. In the past, there were the Far Eastern University (FEU) Dance Troupe, as well as groups attached to the Central Post Office, Department of Tour- ism, and other government offices. The most famous private companies include the Filipinescas Dance Company of Leonor Orosa- Goquingco, the Leyte Kalipayan (formerly Filipiniana) Dance Troupe of Teresita Pil, the Ramon Obusan Folklor- ic Group (ROFG), and the Baranggay after it left PNC. Folk dance companies have proliferated as a result of the efforts exerted by physical education teachers, and were further encouraged by the international success of the Bayanihan, Filipinescas, FEU, and ROFG. Some were reborn in the United States, such as the Philippine Dance Company of New York, although Bruna Seril founded it before the Philippine-based companies received interna- tional acclaim. Foreign ethnic dance groups include the highly specialized classical Spanish concert ensembles of Manolo Rosado, Ruben Nieto, and Guillermo Gomez. The Polynesian companies were larger; some of them, such as Lally and Terry Aldeguer's group, combined South Pacific dances with jazz and often performed on TV. TV provides regular work for many dancers and dance groups. TV dancing ranges from jazz to pseudo- ballet to folk to social dance. In the 1960s, Chito Feliciano taught millions of TV viewers a variety of social dances. There were regular TV groups, such as those of Al Quinn, Julie Borromeo, Amelia Apolinario, Lito Calzado, Ernie Estrella, among others. Today, there are regular groups attached to TV productions like The Sharon Cuneta Show, or to recording com- panies like Dyna and Octo Arts. • B.E.S.Villaruz

References: Bayanihan 1987; The Bayanihan Experience 1987; Fernandez and Vidad 1981; The Filipinescas Story 1960-1970 folio 1970; Layag-Radaic Dec 1978; The Philippine Baranggay Folk Dance Troupe-4 Decades of Showcasing Philippine Culture folio 1989; Reyes in Sayaw Silanganan ng 1976-77; Villaruz 9-10 Apr 1983, 9-10 Jan 1988; Yu (ed.) 1990.

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ASPECTS

Dance criticism is the discussion and evaluation of the making, manifestation, and meaning of dance. The making of a dance includes conceptualization and manipulation of dance elements, including attendant designs. Dance is manifested in its performance, which includes audiences, time, and place. The mean- ing of a dance is its significance to various levels of perception or kinds of reception, and in the develop- ment of dance and culture in society. In the Spanish period, European travellers or Spanish priests concentrated not on dance criticism, but on dance description. In 1521, Antonio Pigafetta described a dance worship of the sun, which he said was led by old women who chanted, drank, and circled around a sacrificial pig while carrying bamboo trumpets and spears (Blair and Robertson XXXIII 1973:169). In 1663 Fr Francisco Colin described the movements of what seems to be a war dance (Blair and Robertson XL 1973:37-48). In 1846 Mallat described the courtship dance called kumintang (Blair and Robertson XLV:276). Dance description is also seen in the 1930s, this time focusing on the New Dance which burst through the boundaries of accepted dance criteria and aesthetic principles. Philippine critics did not confine them- selves to description, but continued on to make judg- ment~>. In the years before WWII, A.V.H. Hartendorp wrote about Trudl Dubsky-Zipper's Manila Ballet Moderne in his Philippine Magazine. His descriptions and evaluations of all three annual seasons (cut short by WWII) give us a fair idea of Dubsky-Zipper' s art. In the 1950s and 1960s, more and more dance reviews started to appear in newspapers. The most significant dance critics were Morli Dharam (later Anthony Morli) for the Manila Times and Rosalinda L. Orosa for the Manila Chronicle. Like Hartendorp, they were general practitioners who covered musical, dramatic, and choreographic events. Along with Rodrigo Perez III, Edith Hernandez, Exequiel Molina, and Vilma R. Santiago-Felipe, they monitored the dance in those decades. Their pieces consisted mainly of brief descriptions as most critical writing then was given little space amid news and "high society" reportage. In the 1960s, dance personalities such as Anita M. Kane and Leonor Orosa-Goquingco started writing regular feature articles. Orosa-Goquingco combined teaching, choreographing, and writing about music, drama, and dance. In the 1970s, other writers emerged, such as Isabel Taylor, Josephine Acosta, and Elizabeth Reyes. In the 1980s the major newspapers published Orosa-Goquingco' s pieces.

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Basilio Esteban S. Villaruz, who, like Orosa- Goquingco, has both a literary and choreographic background, also contributed much to dance criticism. In the 1960s, he wrote regular reviews for the Weekly Nation, covering musical, dramatic, choreographic, visual, and even anthropological events for two years. After a long hiatus, he resumed critical writing in the 1970s for BFB Newsletter, later renamed Sayaw Sila- ngan, which he edited and produced for the Ballet Federation of the Philippines. He also engaged other dancers to write, among them Felicitas Layag-Radaic, William Morgan, Edna Vida, Lourdes Dalupan, and Teresa Bautista. After studying choreology abroad, he returned to write in the 1980s for Business Day, Arts Monthly (later called Arts Quarterly), and Kultura, Manila Arts Bulletin, Manila Times (in his column "Dance of Life"), and Manila Chronicle. He often pro- vides a historical perspective and international refer- ence to his heavily descriptive criticism. In the 1980s, a few writers took up dance criticism, but only briefly or sporadically. Pablo Tariman wrote for the Observer after he stopped editing Arts Monthly. He has since returned to writing about the arts. Marge Enriquez's reviews are prominent in Philippine Daily Inquirer and Business World. Like Orosa- Goquingco and Villaruz, she has a solid literary back- ground and long teaching and creative experience in dance, but now does not write as often. Few critics tackle the social implications of a piece, putting it in the context of preceding works, personal influences, and social forces. This limitation is caused both by newspapers that do not allow lengthy discus- sion and critics incapable of ethnological and sociolo- gical analysis. Much dance criticism today has not gone beyond what it was in the 1960s and 1970s. • B.E.S Villaruz

Designs for dance include the sets, properties, costumes, and lighting that give a performance atmos- phere, suggest symbols or implications, time and place, and create symbols and allusions. The sets are painted or constructed. Properties or portable imple- ments and costumes identify a character, occasion or action. Lighting may be natural or controlled with tor- ches, candles, gas or electric lamps, projections, and other equipment moved or modulated for effect. Musical instruments like the Tagakaolo udol (a log pounded) and the Kalinga gangsa lend purpose, prop- erties, and accompaniment to the Tagakaolo and

Kalinga dances, respectively. The elaborate kulintang stand with okir designs provides the setting for Mara- nao and Maguindanao dancing. The Bukidnon dance the dugso around an altar for their hin1klaran ritual as do the Manobo for their sangga ritual. Called angkaw (bamboo platform) or sinengseng (a bamboo pole split at one end to support a plate or candle) by the Manobo, these altars are decor- ated with menhaw (coconut fronds) and hold offer- ings of rice, buyo, betel nut, lime, raw eggs, and glasses of water; during the sangga, which addresses coastal spirits, the dancers also offer cigarettes, wine, cookies, and rice cakes. In the pagdiwata of the Tagbanua in Palawan, elaborate bamboo altars in and outside the house also bear offerings. The baylan or shaman, in a mysterious alindugan (a large black hood), sits on a swing, and offers the spirits, among other things, a votive bird, rice wine, rice cakes, and jewelry laid out on a mat. The Subanon set wine and food on a high, resilient bamboo platform called buklog, constructed in the open field for the day. On this towering trampo- linelike platform, people dance around a central pole that pounds on a log mortar below. The ritual lasts from sunrise to sundown. During the Spanish colonial era, some native reli- gious practices evolved into Christian ones. The joint feast of San Pascual Baylon, Nuestra Senora de Salam- bao, and Santa Clara in Obando, Bulacan has survived in its natural setting on the streets, with devotees clad in baro't saya (blouse and skirt) and hats, waving palas- pas (coconut fronds) and branches as they dance in rows at the morning procession of the three images. The Easter Sunday dance, bate, requires hats, flags,