Philippine dance

TANGO AND BALLET. Two Westem fonns of dance that came to the Philippines during the American colonial period are the tango, left, here perfonned In the Kahlrup Ball at the Fiesta Pavilion, ca 1960, and the ballet, below, here featuring Anna Vllladolld who danced the lead role In the 1983 Giselle. (Nicanor G. Tlongson Col/ecffon, Ballet Philippines Collecffon)

started performing in the famous Manila Carnival and at the Metropolitan Theater. They developed into choreographers of the first rank among the first- generation ballet dancers. Others of their class are Anita Kane, who was the first to tour the country extensively with her Kane (later, Pamana) Ballet Company, and the American Ricardo Cassell who formed his Studio Dance Group. Aside from producing symphonic ballets and the Gershwin movie musical, Lady Be Good, Cassell was the first to produce Giselle in the Philippines, which starred Pacita Madrigal (later Warns) and Benjamin Villanueva Reyes. After Madrigal, the famous "Giselles" were Maribel Aboitiz (with Eddie Elejar as her Albrecht, and also Sieg- fried, Prince Florimund and Basilio), Felicitas Layag (later Radaic) and Maureen Tiongco (in the Kane production), Ester Rimpos, Maniya Barredo, Anna Villadolid, and Lisa Macuja. Giselle is the most often produced ballet classic in the Philippines-in Manila and even in Cebu City where it has been staged by Fe Sala-Villarica. Anna Villadolid danced Giselle not only in Manila but also in Berlin and Munich. In Manila she danced it with Nonoy Froilan-the longest-lasting premier dan- seur of the country who also partnered Lisa Macuja in the same role. Macuja danced the role in the Soviet Republics and, even more often, Kitri in Don Quixote. Her most renowned "Basilios" include the superstars Farouk Ruzimatov and Irek Mukhamedov, respective- ly of the Kirov (of which Macuja was a member for two years) and Bolshoi Ballet companies. Both Villadolid and Macuja have danced the lead roles in Romeo and Juliet, The Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker. Villadolid also danced Ondine in Munich. Maniya Barredo has danced most of the above roles too. She is prima ballerina of the Atlanta Ballet and formerly of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens in Mon- treal. She was a coup at the international ballet festival in Cuba. But she danced her first double role of Odette-Odile in Swan Lake in Manila with Froilan. In Atlanta, she is often paired by one of the most notable Filipino male dancers, Nicolas Pacafta, who was also a principal dancer with Boston Ballet. A close contemporary of Barredo is Tina Santos. She danced the role of Cinderella in Manila for the Ballet Federation of the Philippines, with her husband

23

HISTORICAL ESSAYS

MODERN DANCE. Trudl Dubsky-Zippe(s Manila Ballet Modeme produced many modem pieces like La Muerte deAse, here performed by the group In 1939 with Dubsky-Zipper, near right. (Excelsior 1939, University of the Philippines Archives

Ted Shawn (of the Denishawn Company) toured Asia for nearly two years. They performed five times at the Manila Grand Opera House (where among the last great dancers to perform were Katherine Dunham and her troupe, and Luisillo and his Spanish dancers). A great Filipino modern dancer, Manalo Rosado, later studied in Shawn's school in Jacob's Pillow, Mas- sachusetts. Also an exponent of the Spanish dance, Rosado was a statuesque dancer who projected no- bility and grandeur. He also became a star in Spanish ballets in Europe and Mexico. He started his training in modern dance in Manila with the Viennese Kaethe Hauser. Rosado was later followed by Ruben Nieto. Another Viennese who made an important con- tribution to Philippine modern dance was Trudl Dubsky. She came to Manila to marry the conductor of the Manila Symphony Orchestra, Dr Herbert Zipper. She presented her dancers at the Metropolitan Theater as the Manila Ballet Moderne. Among her notable pupils are Remedios Pinon and Corazon Generoso (later Inigo), former artistic director of the Far Eastern Uni- versity, University of the East, and the University of the Philippines (UP) troupes. Ballet dancers like Oteyza, Villanueva-Reyes, Elejar, Chloe Ccuz-Romulo,

Joji Felix and others also danced for Dubsky. Martha Graham visited in the 1950s and returned in the late 1970s. From the 1960s on, Jose Limon, Paul Taylor, Alvin Ailey and their troupes also performed in the Philippines. Many more modern dancers came to perform, and some taught and choreographed, like Norman Walker, Pauline Kaner, Garth Welch, Takaka Asakawa, and Gray Veredon. For a while Manalo Rosado and Rosalia Menna- Santos taught modern dance in studios and universi- ties. It was Alice Reyes, however, who gave it the most acceptance at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) where modern dance spawned new choreog- raphers in the vein and in modern ballets. The Western forms of the ballet and modern dance did not long remain untouched by native in- spiration, themes and styles, even as modern dance in the West was inspired by Oriental theater and dance. In Europe, Mary Wigman used the mask as in the Japanese noh. St Denis and Shawn interpreted their own ideas about Oriental dancing, from the Middle to the Far East. Graham found Asian equivalents to her own discovered movements when she toured Asia. From Adameit, orientalia of the inauthentic man- ner was merged with ballet forms--as happened dur- ing the romantic period in La Bayadere, La Peri, and later, in the innovations of Michel Fokine and Vaslav Nijinsky for Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. Adameit had her own Maria Clara and rural dances on pointes. The Hungarian exile Paul Szilard (now a New York impresario) formed the Philippine Art Theater which theatricalized Philippine folk dances. He also pro- duced the Sylvia ballet in Manila. With the spirit of revival and with the availability of folkloric materials because of the research made by Francisca Reyes-Aquino and her team in the 1930s, the ballet and modern dance theaters could not escape the influence of native themes and motifs. Anita Kane produced the first original Filipino full-length ballet, Mariang Makiling, 1939, whose music was commis- sioned from composer Ramon Tapales. She also used other Filipino themes in Reconstruction Ballet (based on her experiences during WWII), Sweepstakes, Mutya ng Dagat (Muse of the Sea), lnulan sa Pista (Rained-out Feast), Aswang (Vampire), and "The Sea- sons" in Dularawan: The Golden Salakot. Even more of a Filipinist is Leonor Orosa-Goquingco who took native themes and styles into dance theater. Her notable works include Trend: Return to Native, 1941; Noli Dance Suite, 1956, with its scenes from the novel Noli me tangere (Touch Me Not) by Jose Rizal, The Magic Garden adapted from a story by Nick Joaquin; and the full-evening suite, Filipinescas: Philippine

PHILIPPINE DANCE

BALLET AND FOLK DANCE. Leonor Orosa-Goqulngco's Fillpinescas 1961, a stylized mix of ballet and folk dance, recreated a cockfight. (Leonor Orosa-Goqulngco Co//ecffon)

Life, Legend and Lore in Dance. The last is a stylized merger of the ballet and the folk dance with the region- al dances, tales, and traditions strung together in a storyline that lent the suite some unity. Following this trend set earlier by Adameit, Szilard, Kane, and Orosa-Goquingco, many ballets were based on epics, legends, and customs. Dance Theater Philippines produced: Katakata Sin Rajah In- darapatra (Stories of Rajah Indarapatra) by composer Jose Maceda and choreographer Eddie Elejar; Babae at Lalake (Woman and Man) by Ramon Tapales and Julie Borromeo; Kalingan by Angel Pefi.a and Julie Borromeo; Nan-Pangkat by Angel Pefi.a and Felicitas Layag-Radaic; Tanan (Elopement) by Juan Silos Jr and Layag-Radaic; and Zagalas de Manila (Manila Ladies in Procession) by Julio Nakpil and Julie Borromeo. Hariraya Dance Company created Legend of the Sari-Manok by Bayani Mendoza de Leon, Reynaldo

25

HISTORICAL ESSAYS

26

cifically, this dimension is about women who plumb the mystery of life and who bring life to earth and continue the advance of mankind. Later, Denisa Reyes took to a larger-scaled treatment of the Filipino psyche and experience in Siete Dolores (Seven Sorrows), again with Obispo and with libretto by Nicanor G. Tiongson.

Epilogue

Today the diversity of Filipino dances lives, among the ethnic groups whose cultures have not been completely Westernized, among the lowland Christian folk communities who comprise the majority of Filipinos, and among the heavily Westernized urba- nites concentrated in Manila and other big cities. Through time, the dance-whether this be the dugso and binanog, the kuratsa and the sinulog, the tango and the rock 'n' roll, Filipinescas, Amada, and

PHILIPPINE DANCE

MODERN DANCE CLASSIC. Inspired by Nick Joaquin's short story entiHed "Summer SolsHce," Allee Reyes' Amado, 1970, Is considered a landmark In the Philippine modem dance scene. (Rudy Vldad, Ballet Philippines Cottecffon)

For the Gods-has been a major form of expression from the Filipino people. Whether performed around the village hearth, the ilustrado' s sala, the peasant's yard, the church plaza, the town's streets, or the stage of an urban theater, dance has been and always will be the dynamic and living form by which the Filipinos define their identity and affirm themselves as a nation. • B.E.S. Villaruz

References: Alejandro 1972, 1978; Amilbangsa 1983; Banas 1975; Bayanihan 1987; Bocobo-Olivar 1972; Fajardo 1961-1975; Fernandez and Vidad 1981; Joaquin 1977; Orosa-Goquingco 1980; Pascua-Ines 1973; Pfeiffer 1975; Reyes-Aquino 1953-1975.

27

HISTORICAL ESSAYS

Ethnic dances are found among the ethnolinguis- tic groups scattered all over the Philippine islands, who have not been substantially Westernized, either by Spain or the United States. These dances, which are integral to the community's way of life, are: the ritual dances, which connect the material world to the spir- itual; the life-cycle dances, which celebrate an individ- ual's birth, baptism, courtship, wedding, and demise; and the occupational dances, which transform defense and livelihood activities to celebratory performances.

Ritual Dances

Rituals sustain the spiritual and social life of the indigenous Filipinos. Closely attuned to nature, be- lieving in the spirits that keep their environment fruit- ful and their selves alive, the ethnic Filipinos enact these rites--always with instrumental music, chant- ing, and often dancing-as "part of communal life cycles, but they also serve as a popular medium of dramatic expression and entertainment that reflects

RITUAL DANCE. The Tingulan of Abra perform a ritual dance around a bonfire Just before they bury their dead, as seen In this 19th-century print. ( Glronlere 7855, Wllfrldo Vlllacorta Collecffon)

28

the spirits who enter them in a trance. Before an altar full of offerings (rice wine in jars, bunga, china bowls of rice, betel, ginger, onion, pepper, candles), dressed and armed with an alindugan (hood), palaspas (fronds), a kris or dagger, and accompanied by gong-playing, the babaylan chants on a ceremonial swing, drinks, and dances. Lighting a cigarette may symbolize "the fire of the supematurals," while floating a turtle on the wine may mean the visit of a sailor spirit who fights epidemics (Fox 1982:224-225). Lasting from 8 to 12 hours, the pagdi- wata invites not only the highest deity Magindusa but also other deities to join in the feast of drinking, eating, chewing of betel, and smoking, so that none might be slighted. Out in Bukidnon there are the hinaklaran (offer- ing) festival and the ritual of the three datu. In the first there is chanting and dancing around an altar. The women dance the well-known dugso while a baylan ceremoniously chants her own invocation. The ritual can go on for some six hours to assure the blessings of the spirits, a good harvest or good fortune. Also for everyone's well-being, the rite of the three Kaamulan datu enacts a regional unity where the datu offer chick- en of various colors, pouring their blood beside offer- tory water and coins. In the past, the new datu Man Sicampo Man Langcayan of Tikala-an (formerly Pusod ha Dagat or Navel of the Sea) invited Kapetan Pedro Tayabong, datu of Lambagowon (now Cagayan de Oro), the sultan of Dodsaan, the sultan of Maguinda- nao, and the sultan of Tagolaan for a pact of friendship. They sealed this over a dug hole where they placed a Quran, a Bible, a durian fruit, and chick- en, and over which they placed a balagun (rattan vine) which symbolized a would-be betrayer's fate. A feast of seven days followed. Up north, the Tinguian in the mountains of Abra worship their anita (spirits and ancestral dead) and their great god Kabunian. They are led by a medium called mandadawak or alpogan. Their pinauban ritual pours out blood over or ties strings around the pinaeng, stones of unusual shape found at the entrance of the village. The story goes that the spirit of Kabunian (or Apadel, Kalagang) once entered these pinaeng stones. Male participants may pray the diam or dimdimi and make a pig cry for the gods to hear. The women dance around and sing the salidummay. All these are to ask for rain or pray for everyone's well-being. When life is threatened by illness, the Tinguian celebrate the bawi. The bawi-bawi, a simulated house, is the center around which a mandadawak and his/her assistant make a pig cry, again for the spirits to hear. In the manerwap, the Bontoc bring baskets of chicks to the hills; their chirping supposedly helps attract the

ETHNIC TRADITION

spirits. For a similar cause, the Apayao stage a dawak. The female mandadawak exchange verbal chants, take up large scarves and headaxes, sprinkle the sick with water. Squatting, the sick and their relatives are all covered with a ceremonial or symbolic blanket. When the cure is effected, everyone rises up to dance. The Aeta of Zambales stage the anituan to drive away the evil spirits that cause sickness. The patient or patients are covered with a red cloth and are surrounded by the shaman and the patient's relatives. They threaten the spirits to go away with their bows and arrows, spears and sticks. Should this fail, they resort to talking with the spirits and propitiating them with gifts and food. Effect is declared when the red cloth is pulled away, and every- one joins in a celebratory dance of shuffling walks, shak- ing, and skipping around. Believing that they are descendants of the union of the sun and moon, the Mandaya of Davao hold various rituals to court the favors of various environ- mental spirits. In their anito baylan, each of the female baylan holds a red scarf and a small kalasag (shield) with shell and bead attachments which are sounded with the gongs and drums. They shuffle around in curves and circles, moving forwards and backwards, spinning and shaking in a trance. The dance is full of agility and vigor, and is colorful with the Mandaya's dyed and patterned abaca clothes, elaborate headdres- ses, and red scarves. As profoundly religious a people are the Bagobo, also of Davao. They believe in Pamulak Manobo who created the heaven and the earth, and molded the first man named Toglai and woman named Toglibon. Their daily life is ruled by rituals, among these the awesome four-day gin-um which of old included human sacri- fice. Like the Mandaya, they are colorfully dressed in their tie-dyed tinalak (abaca) clothes and elaborate ornamentation, perhaps suggested by their god's pas- sage over a rainbow to descend to Mt Apo to create Toglai and Toglibon. Their assiduous if sometimes fearful religiosity includes the healing ritual where the female baylan dolefully officiates before a tall altar with incense, and daubs with blood of the sacrificial chicken the body of the sick. They also flick a red cloth or scarf to help effect an appeal to the gods and give vigor to their patients. The patient himself finally joins in the dance, a cleansing exercise that finally restores his vitality. The Isneg of the northeast Cordillera are as color- ful in their clothes and feasts, as they are fierce in their headhunts. A rite for everyone's well-being gathers on a mat a coconut which also simulates a decapitated head brought in by a victorious mengal or headhunter, coconut fronds and flowers, bamboo strips, pots, and 29

HISTORICAL ESSAYS

chickens. The officiating shaman puts these things in order, and whips the ground and the chickens. The whole community starts dancing in pairs, and then all together. To gongs and other percussion instruments, they spread out their arms with their ubiquitous blan- kets, slightly turning left and right, lightly swooping around each other, keeping their feet busy with earthy shuffling steps, sometimes skipping. Addressing the spirits may include all sorts of procedures. In the Umayamnon babaylan dance, a man dresses up as a woman, inasmuch as most babaylan are women, but as man he retains his strength which pleases the gods. With scarves, the babaylan encircles a bush, the symbol of life, where most spirits reside, and utters incantations. This spir- itual dimension of life suffuses the indigenous Filipi- nos' celebrations so that shamanistic dances are found almost everywhere. In the Subanon buklog, this be- comes clearer when the community itself joins in the act of propitiation and celebration. Up before sunrise, the men go out to the open field, away from diurnal duties, to raise a sacred build- ing reaching for the clouds. It rises at sunup and is gone by sundown. There will be no trace left of its sturdy and supple strength, no remnant of its quite cabalistic ceremony--except in the memory of its celebrants. The best wood is chosen for strength, the best bamboo for pliancy, and the best food, rice wine, and incense for efficacy. A baylan chooses the sacred spot where the buklog is to rise; measuring three to four times an adult person's height, it towers out, alone, in the open. The baylan then leads the people and offers food and incense to the spirits. They and the people drink and dance in the manner of their epics and ancestors. To give thanks for a bountiful harvest, to deflect any illness or misfortune, the Subanon of Zamboanga hold hands, keep a common rhythm, and move as one body in a symbolic circle. The woven bamboo floor bounces up and down. The people keep in step around a central pole called pathaw (long pestle) that pounds against a log called dulugan (mortar) dug below, sometimes with resonating jars beneath to echo the rhythms of the buklog to the hills and plains. A totemistic support pole looks over the whole ceremony with godly detachment. To the Subanon, the buklog is an old, old rite, a communal celebration, a now subliminal sexual sym- bol, an offering to the gods, a spiritual experience. In the epic tale of Sandayo, the noble Subanon rose up to the clouds with their servants, who came down again and told of a heaven of gold and light. Their ceremo- nial buklog is most unique in the land in being held high up on a special yet temporal flooring that must be