Philippine dance: tradition and trends

Abstract

Historical background In the late 1920s and the 1930s when there was a resurgence of a first national sense of cultural identity, the Filipinos initiated renaissance in Philippine dance. In 1927, Mrs. Francisca Reyes Tolentino (later, Mrs. Francisca Reyes-Aquino) started field research in Philippine folk dances under the auspices of the University of the Philippines. efforts resulted in the 1930s, with the formation of the University of the Philippines Folk Song and Dance Club and the formation of a dance troupe that was later revived as the Filipiniana Dance Company. With the help of in musicians, Mrs. Aquino almost single-handedly determined the survival and future course of Philippine folk dances. She published several books the Philippines and in the United States which serve as the bible of folk dancers in the Philippines today.