Folk Dance in Luzon- Lesson 3

Folk Dance in LUZON

Abaruray

 "Abaruray" is a contraction of the words "Aba" and 
"Ruray". "Aba!" is an exclamation which is equivalent to "Hey!", 
"Hi!", or "Hail!" in English. "Ruray" is a nickname for Aurora. 
This dance is known in the Philippines be several names, such 
as "Hapayan", "Tagayan", "Pandango sa Baso", and "Abaroray". 
In any social gathering in the remote "barrios" of the Philippines, 
it is customary to offer wine to the visitors. The offering is 
usually made by a young lady. She goes around with a glass and a 
bottle of native wine offering a drink to the visitors. This wine 
offering is a signal for the beginning of folk dancing and singing. 
The musicians play the introduction of "Abaruray" music. The girl 
who is offering the wine picks out a young man from among the guests 
and offers him a drink. This is her way of hinting at her desire 
to dance with him. The young has to accept it or he commits a breach 
of etiquette and the girl is offended. His acceptance of the drink 
will signify that he will dance with the girl. He then stands and 
they begin dancing, with the girl leading him on. The girl dances 
with the glass of wine on her head from which the young man drinks. 
Her dancing skill is shown in her ability to keep the glass on her 
head and in not spilling a drop of the wine. The audience sing and 
clap their hands in time with the music. The description given below 
is the "Abaruray" from Tayabas.
 
 COSTUME: The girl is dressed in "balintawak" and the 
   boy in "barong tagalog" and long red trousers. 
   Both dancers are bare footed.

 MUSIC is divided into three parts: Introduction, A and B.

 COUNT:  one, two, three to a measure.

 FORMATION. Partners stand opposite each other about eight 
     feet apart. The girl stands at her partner right 
     side when facing the audience. A few boys and 
     girls may take part in this dance to represent 
     the townsfolk attending a social gathering. The 
     girls are dressed like the dancer. The boys 
     are dressed in "barong tagalog" or "camisa de 
     chino" and long trousers. They clap hands in 
            time with the music.

Carinosa

Cariñosa (IPA: [ˌkariˈɲosa]) is a flirtatious Philippine group dance in the Maria Clara suite of Philippine folk dances where the fan or handkerchief plays an instrumental roll as it places the couple in a hard-to-get romance scenario. Despite popular belief, Cariñosa has always been the national dance of the Philippines, whereas the Tinikling is just a worldwide favorite.
source: wikipedia

Kalapati

The dance Kalapati originated from from Cabugao, Ilocos Sur province. 
It symbolizes peace and is represented by imitating the movements of a graceful dove. 
It portrays the typical traits of the Ilokanos: simplicity, naturalness, and shyness.

La Jota Manileña

This is a dance named after Manila, the old capital of the Philippines.
The dance is an adaptation of the Castilian Jota where dancers where where dancers use bamboo castanets
 and clack them to provide music. 
The costumes are inspired by Spanish culture.

Maglalatik

Maglalatik- This a mock war dance between the Muslims and the Christians that originated from Binan, Laguna, Philippines. 
The dance is about a fight for the latik or coconut meat during the Spanish era.
Today, this dance is performed in honor of the town's patron saint, San Isidro Labrador.
 All dancers are male and are naked to the waist except for the coconut shells attached to their chests, backs and hips.
 The Muslim dancers wear red trousers while the Christian dancers wear blue. 
There are also coconut shells on their thighs and knees.
 As they dance, they touch these shells with their coconut shells on their hands.

Palu-Palo Dance from Batanes

One is from Ivatan, Batanes

The steps are just like sakuting and other stick dances like in this video.

Palu-palo, is a war dance that shows how the community joins forces as one to defend themselves. It is a dance showing how the Ivatans defended themselves against the Christian intruders and how they learned to accept Christianity and live a virtuous life. The dance was a simple one performed by men who wore simple flesh-colored garments. The tapping of wooden sticks as background music to the dance produced an echoing sound as the Ivatans reenacted their battle with the Christian invaders.

Chotis-FolkDance from Luzon-Camarines Sur

(CHOH-tees)
Chotis (or “Shotis”) was one of the ballroom dances introduced by early European settlers. This dance, from Camarines Sur, has been adapted by the Bicolano people and is characterized by a brush-step-hop movement.

Aray

A dance whose words are sung in “Chabacano-ermitense,” a hybrid of Spanish that was only spoken in the Ermita district before the turn of the century and today is extinct. The dance itself is a flirtatious one that involves graceful use of the pañuelo, or shawl, and tambourines. Aray means “ouch” in Tagalog.

BINDIAN

Bindian originated from Northern Luzon. It also falls under Mountain and Igorot Dance.

BIHN-deeh-ahn)

The Ibaloy who inhabit the southernmost mountain regions in Northern Luzon perform victory dances to extol the bravery of the warriors of yesterday. In this version from the barrio of Kabayan, hand movements are downward, suggesting the people’s affinity with the earth. The basic step consists of a stamp by the left foot and a light, forward movement by the right. Instrumentalists lead the line, followed by male dancers, while the female dancers bring in the rear.

Sayaw sa Bangko

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.

Sublian

This is a ritual dance that originated from Bauan, Batangas in Luzon, Philippines. The word sublian comes from the word subsub which means falling head on and bali which means broken. The word describes the dancers who pretend to be lame and crooked throughout the dance as a sign of worship to the town’s Church icon, the Holy Cross during its fiesta celebration

Source: https://itsmeapipa.wordpress.com/content/folk-dance-in-luzon/