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 towns 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 towns 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 Nio. 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 Nio 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 Nio. 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.)

Back to Top
Back to Regional Cultures Page

<

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.)

Back to Top
Back to Regional Cultures Page

>

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

*<

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.

Back to Top
Back to Regional Cultures Page

*>

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

><

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.

Back to Top
Back to Regional Cultures Page

<*
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

Back to Top
Back to Regional Cultures Page

>*<

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