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| Some of the dancers perform the tinikling, the quintessential Filipino dance number |
Slowly but surely, it is making a name for itself and receiving invitations for performances left and right here in Charlotte, North Carolina.
I'm talking about the Philippine Cultural Dance Troupe of Charlotte that was set up by Florami Lao Cordero-Lee four years ago before she became immediate past president of the Filipino American Association of the Carolinas (FACC).
Lee said the dance troupe was intended to promote Philippine culture through music, dance and costumes. There are seven adult members including herself and the youngest, Ginger Butler, is nine years old.
Other members include Maria Benrokiya, Alma Butler, Raquel Robinson, Blessel Butler, Allyssa Abalos and Rutchie Secretaria. “I had different performers as the years go by,” Lee said.
Of the many dances in the Philippines they performed, the “tinikling,” “binasuan” and “subli” are among the most requested. “Different dancers, different choreographies and different times,” Lee added with a smile.
The tinikling dance is one of the most popular and well-known of the traditional Philippine dances, a pre-Spanish routine that involves two people beating, tapping and sliding bamboo poles on the ground and against each other.
While two people handle the bamboo poles, one or more dancers step in and out between the poles.
Based on what I read in Wikipedia, “tinikling” is a reference to birds locally known as tikling, and the term literally means "tikling-like.
The dance originated in Leyte among the Visayan islands in the central Philippines as an imitation of the tikling bird dodging bamboo traps set by rice farmers.
Through the “tinikling” dancers imitate the tikling bird's legendary grace and speed by skillfully maneuvering between large bamboo poles.
Legend says that “tinikling” originated during the time when the Spaniards took over the Philippines. Natives worked on large plantations under the control of the King of Spain.
Those who didn't work productively were punished by standing between two bamboo poles. Female “tinikling” dancers wear a dress called balintawak or patadyong while the male dancers wear a uniform called barong tagalog.
The balintawak are colorful dresses with wide arched sleeves and the patadyong is a pineapple fiber blouse paired with checkered skirts.
The barong tagalog consists of lightweight long sleeved shirts and worn with red trousers. Dancers wear no footwear while performing.
The other native Filipino dance, Binasuan, consists of three drinking glasses that a Binasuan dancer, usually female, balances on her head and in the palms of both her hands as she moves.
Each glass is half-full with rice wine and a Binasuan dancer's skill is determined by her ability not to drop a glass or spill any wine during her performance.
Lee said the audience usually gasps whenever they see the female dancers perform the Binasuan due to the glasses over their heads.
Lastly, the “subli”, a folk dance considered as a favorite of the people of the barrios of Bauan town, Batangas province, is a ceremonial worship dance performed in homage to the Holy Cross. It is referred to in the vernacular as Mahal Na Poong Santa Cruz.
The Philippine Cultural Dance Troupe of Charlotte recently performed during the dragon celebration for the Chinese New Year and at the Hilton Tyvola. The public can certainly expect more from this group in the years to come.
(The blogger/author is a veteran journalist from Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, Northern Mindanao in the Philippines who works as a nanny in North Carolina. Read her blogs on susanpalmesstraightfrom the Carolinas.com. These and other articles also appear at http://www.sunstar.com.ph/author/2582/susan-palmes-dennis)
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