Back when I was a freshman in Philippines, we had this field trip to a cultural show somewhere in Manila. We took the train first then the bus. It was a hot 1 hour long trip to get there, and my friends kept on complaining for an AC. I smiled. When we got there, it was nice and breezy, and we also realized that the theater was so big! The person that we talked to told us that it was not just a theater, but also its a museum about cultural paintings and sculptures. When the show started, I have no clue what they were doing.
I have never thought that my ancestors danced this dance long before I was born. Dance such as Tinikling, Maglalatik, Cariñosa, Pandango sa Ilaw, and others, surprised me for I thought that some of this dances never exist. The first dance was Tinikling. This dance and Cariñosa were the only dances that I know. Tinikling was known as our national folk dance where a pair of dancers hop between two bamboo poles which were pound together by two person during the music. It's a hard dance because you have to time the music and try not to get hit by the bamboos. Trust me, I have done that before and the bamboo poles hit my leg hard. But this guys know what they were doing. They were swinging and dancing and moving through the flow of music. The coordination was outstanding, but I guess it's because of long practice and passion for dancing. The crowd clapped after the dance. The next dance was Maglalatik. They said that it was a mock-war dance where male dancers wear coconut harnesses on their chest, back, thighs and hips, and pound it along the rhythm of music. It was awesome. The males that were wearing red trousers were showing off their skills and then the blue-trouser-wearing guys showed off their skill too. The sound of the banging coconuts with the music was awesome, and the choreography was also nice too. But honestly, this was my least favorite because of the way they look, but I guess they were mocking each other, I guess. Next was Cariñosa. This was my all time favorite. The dancers were both male and female. Think about prom, but old fashioned. I danced this when I was a kid and I had my first crush because of this. Anyways, this dance was performed in a flirtatious manner while holding a fan (for girls) and holding a handkerchief (for guys). It was a hide-and-seek movement which was funny, because in this dance ladies were playing hard to get, but they end up with their partner, happily ever after. There was a lot after that but all that I can say was that the show was magnificent.
If the cultural shows never exist I bet that I would feel incomplete. I bet that without it I would never have a scar on my leg or passion for art- because that was one of many days that I fell in love with art- or my first crush- well not that part. But without cultural shows, what or who would remind us the dances and cultural sculptures and pictures now? Nobody, because many of us now are more thrilled in our modern day-to-day life: technology now is rushing trough our veins, social activities are done through internet, and sadly there would be less things that would inspire us. And some of us might not feel content with their life. It's a nice thing that some of us still do this dances that reminds us our ancestor's life. If I had enough money back then, I bet that I would be thrilled by the rhythm of their music.
Here is a link for Tinikling and Cariñosa.
Tinikling: Advance.
carinosa
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