Folk Dance (Tinikling) -Amila

8/12/2019 Folk Dance (Tinikling) -Amila

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TINIKLING

(FOLK DANCE)

A WRITTEN REPORT

SUBMITTED TO

PROF. BOYLIE ABENIR SARCINA

DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY AND HUMANITIES

SUBMITTED BY

AMILA MACARAMBON

FEBRUARY 17, 2014


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TINIKLING (FOLK DANCE)

Tinikling is the most popular and best known dance of the Philippines,

receiving acclaim as their national dance. The dance is similar to ropejumping, but instead of a spinning rope, two bamboo poles are hit against

raised blocks on the floor and then together. Tinikling actually means

"bamboo dance" in English. The dance requires one person to operate each

end of the poles, and one or more dancers to move in and out of the poles.

Origin

Tinikling originated in the Visayan Islands, on the Island of Leyte.

Dancers imitate the tikling bird's legendary grace and speed as they walk

between grass stems, run over tree branches, or dodge bamboo traps set by

rice farmers.

Different stories of tinikling have been passed down through oral

histories and folklore. One of the stories of it's origin may or may not be

true. The story says that the dance started by the people who worked on the

fields and paddies in the Philippines. When the Spaniards conquered the

Philippines, the natives were sent to the haciendas. The natives lost control

of their land because they were under an economic system that is largely

based on rural and agricultural operations of large farmlands administered


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by caretakers for the King of Spain. The natives had to work all day to

please the Spaniards. The people of the Philippines worked in the fields and

paddies for almost four hundred years (1500-1898). The people who worked

too slowly would be punished. Their punishment was to stand between two

bamboo poles cut from the grove. Sometimes, the sticks would have thornsjutting out from their segments. The poles were then clapped together to

beat the native's feet. By jumping when the bamboo sticks were apart, the

natives tried to escape this cruel form of punishment.

The matrix for the dance was probably laid out when the workers

would return home with their feet bruised and bleeding from the

punishment. By practicing to escape the bamboo sticks during punishment,

tinikling soon became a challenge, an art, and a dance. Now tinikling is

performed on certain Sundays in the Philippines. Since it is no longer a

punishment, the sticks are smooth and the clapping is gentle.

Another source says that the tiklingis a bird with long legs and neck. The

birds are considered as the worst enemy of the Warayfarmers because they molest

the rice fields as they prey on the ripening rice grains. To prevent this, the farmers

would place some bitik(calledsi-ayorpatibongin Samar), traps made of bamboo to

catch the annoying birds. The birds, however, would still manage to escape from

the traps. The tinikling dance imitates the movements of the tiklingbirds escaping

from the bamboo traps set by the farmers. The bamboo poles are indeed used to

try to trap the dancers feet for fun. This spectacular dance is usually accompanied

by a folk song about the trap-setters. The funny lyrics of this song given below isfound in the book Mga Ambahan(1906) of Vicente de Veyra (from Jaro, Leyte).

Equipment

Tinikling equipment may be bought commercially, but is more economical to supply

yourself. The following items work well and are inexpensive:

1. Wooden closet dowels from the local lumber yard (8-18 feet long, depending on

number of dancers).

2. Pieces of free 2x4 scrap or inexpensively bought 2x4's may be cut as blocks(approximately 30 inches long).

3. Free carpeting samples may be cut up and glued to the bottom of block ends to

protect wood floors and to decrease vibrating of blocks when they are hit.

4. Tape marks may be placed on blocks to approximate the width to separate the

poles to hit them on the blocks (14-18 inches apart, depending on size of dancers).


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Types of steps

Tinikling dance steps are usually described as combinations of only three basic 4/4

steps: Singles, doubles, and hops. Singlesand doubles refer to the number of feet

that touch the floor at a time during a given step. Hopsrefers to a specific category

of singles steps, although sometimes a step involving just one foot at a timeactually contains a leap, since the body weight is transfered from one foot to the

other foot.

Learn Tinikling Basic Dance Steps!

All the dance steps are combination of only three basic 4/4 tinikling steps. These

steps are called Singles, Doubles, and Hops.

Four people should be two boys and two girls. The first couple performs the dance

and the other couple operate the bamboo poles by hitting them together and also

tapping them on the floor in rhythm to the music. When the first couple dancingmakes an error in their dance steps, the other couple takes their turn and this is

where the fun starts especially when the dance speed gets faster and faster.

Further, tinikling is very similar to jump rope, but instead of a spinning rope, two

bamboo poles are used.

WARNING: Ensure that very flexible poles are used. Use hollow bamboo, not rattan,

which is similar looking, but solid.

1. Singles:When the poles are on the dancers right side (right foot lead) the foot workof two Singles steps would be as follows:

Count 1 - Hop on left foot outside polesCount 2 - Hop again on left foot outside poles

Count 3 - Step on right foot between polesCount 4 - Step on left foot between poles

Count 1 - Hop right foot outside polesCount 2 - Hop again on right foot outside poles

Count 3 - Step on left foot between poles

Count 4 - Step on right foot between poles

2. Doubles:The foot work for two Doubles Steps (with right side next to poles) wouldbe:

Count 1 - Hop on both feet outside poles

Count 2 - Hop again on both feet outside polesCount 3 - Hop on both feet between poles

Count 4 - Hop again on both feet between poles

Count 1 - Hop on both feet outside (straddling) polesCount 2 - Hop again on both feet outside polesCount 3 - Hop on both feet between poles

Count 4 - Hop again on both feet between poles


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3. Hops:The footwork for two Hops steps (right foot lead) would be as follows:Count 1 - Hop on left outside poles

Count 2 - Hop again on left foot outside poles

Count 3 - Hop on right foot between polesCount 4 - Hop again on right foot between poles

Count 1 - Hop on left foot outside polesCount 2 - Hop again on left foot outside poles

Count 3 - Hop on right foot between polesCount 4 - Hop on right foot between poles

References:

People.bethel.edu/~shenkel/PhysicalActivities/Rhythms/Tinikling/Tinikl

eIdeas.html

http://www.likha.org/galleries/tinikling.asp

http://www.burbank.k12.il.us/schools/mccord/classes/PE/clip%20art/t

inikling_steps.htm

http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php?title=Tinikling
http://www.likha.org/galleries/tinikling.asphttp://www.likha.org/galleries/tinikling.asphttp://www.burbank.k12.il.us/schools/mccord/classes/PE/clip%20art/tinikling_steps.htmhttp://www.burbank.k12.il.us/schools/mccord/classes/PE/clip%20art/tinikling_steps.htmhttp://www.burbank.k12.il.us/schools/mccord/classes/PE/clip%20art/tinikling_steps.htmhttp://www.burbank.k12.il.us/schools/mccord/classes/PE/clip%20art/tinikling_steps.htmhttp://www.burbank.k12.il.us/schools/mccord/classes/PE/clip%20art/tinikling_steps.htmhttp://www.likha.org/galleries/tinikling.asp

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Folk Dance (Tinikling) -Amila