Discussion

National Artists- is the highest national award given to Filipino artist who have
made significant contributions to the Philippines and the arts.

Dance – is a rhythmic and expressive movement of the body in successive

movement usually accompanied by music.

National Artists of the Philippines in the Field of Dance

1. Francisca Reyes- Aquino- (March 9, 1899 - November 21, 1983) was

a Filipino folk dancer and academic noted for her research on Philippine folk
dance. She was a folk Dancer and a P.E teacher. This Bulakena began her research
on folk dance in 1920’s making trips in Central Luzon and Northern Luzon. Her
Research on the unrecorded forms of local celebration, ritual and sport resulted
into a 1926 thesis entitled “Philippine Folk Dances and Games”
In 1940s’, she served as supervisor of physical education at the Bureau of
Education that distributed her work and adopted the teaching of folk dancing as a
medium of making young Filipino to be aware of their cultural Heritage.
-Aquino also had other books published including: Philippine National
Dances (Careňosais a dance made for flirting. Dancer make a number of flirtious
movements as they hide behind the fans of handkerchiefs and peek out one
another. The essence of dance is the courtship between the two sweethearts. )
(1946), Gymnastics for Girls (1947), Fundamental Dance Steps and
Music (1948), Foreign Folk Dances (1949), Dances for all
Occasion (1950), Playground Demonstration (1951), and Philippine Folk Dances,
Volumes I to VI.

2. Leonor Orosa –Goquingco-(July 24, 1917 – July 15, 2005) was a Filipino
national artist in creative dance. She played the piano, drew art, designed scenery
and costumes, sculpted, acted, directed, danced and choreographed. Her pen name
was Cristina Luna and she was known as Trailblazer, Mother of Philippine
Theater Dance and Dean of Filipino Performing Arts Critics.
She incorporated ballet with folk dance and Asian Dance and such has been able to
create innovative and original choreographies. Throughout her career, she
choreographed over 50 unique dances narrating stories that she has penned. She
was the Honorary Chair of the Association of Ballet Academies of the Philippines
and a founding member of the Philippine Ballet Theatre.
Her most Elaborate project was The Filipinescas: Philippine Life, Legend and
Lore. This Performance brought traditional folk dance and its evolution to the
stage.

3. Ramon Arevalo Obosan- June 16, 1938 – December 21, 2006) was a Filipino
dancer, choreographer, stage designer and artistic director. He is recognized as a
promoter of Philippine Traditional dance through his performances and cultural
research . He achieved phenomenal success in the Philippine dance and cultural
work. He is also an acclaimed archivist, researcher and documentary filmmaker
who focused on Philippine culture.
Through Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group which he founde in 1971. This group
was acclaimed for its authentic and faithful recreation and performance of Filipino
Folk dance.
Among Obusan's notable works are the following:[1]

 Vamos a Belen! Series (1998-2004) Philippine Dances Tradition

 Obra Maestra, a collection of Ramon Obusan's dance masterpieces

4. Alice Garcia Reyes-(born October 14, 1942) is a Filipina dancer,

choreographer, teacher, director and producer. The organizer of Ballet Philippines,
she received last June 20, 2014 from President Aquino the highest award in the
Arts, National Artist of the Philippines She was chiefly responsible in popularizing
contemporary dance as she organized Ballet Philippines and staged the first
modern dance concert at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Main Theater on
February, 1970. She is best known for "Bungkos Suite", "Carmen", "Carmina
Burana", "Romeo and Juliet", "Rama Hari", "Cinderella"—all nuanced with
Filipino culture, gesture and grace.

Major works
 Amada (1969)
 At a Maranaw Gathering (1970)
 Itim-Asu (1971)

5. Lucrecia Reyes Urtula-(June 29, 1929 - August 24, 1999) was a Filipino
choreographer, theater director, teacher, author, and a researcher on ethnic dance.
She spent almost four decades in the discovery of and study of Philippine folk
dance and ethnic dances.
Over her lifetime, she worked to elevate the art of folk dancing into the realm of
theatre. She adapted indigenous dance traditions to the exactions of the modern
stage and performances of her creations that received international attention
After this initial foray, Reyes went on to complete the repertoire of her performing
group and drew on native dances as a source of materials. Out of Lanao and
Cotabato, she harvested various dances, such as the dance of the slave, the dance of
the warrior and the dance of the Muslim princess called "Singkil". Her creative
choreography provided color, character[ and music which enriched the program of
her Bayanihan Dance.. Reyes earned the accolades of her admiring audiences as
she gave "form, substance and exciting color to what could have been simple
ethnic dances," which she elevated to an art in a theater. Among the widely
acclaimed dances she had staged were Singkil, a Bayanihan signature number
based on a Maranao epic poem( is dance traditionally performed by a single
women to attract the attention of potential suitors. Dancer perform a series graceful
movements as they step in and out from bamboo poles which are rhythmically
clapped together. ; Vinta, a dance honoring Filipino sailing prowess(a traditional
dance outrigger boat from the Philippine island of Mindanao. The boat are made
by sama bajao and Moros living in Zamboangga Peninsula.; Tagabili, a tale of
tribal conflict; Pagdiwata, a four-day harvest festival condensed into a six-minute
spectacle “Diwata”is a dance originating from tagbanua tribe of Palawan which
depects rituals after harvest.; Salidsid, a mountain wedding dance. Salidsid Is a
kalinga courtship dance performed by male and female and thus is sometimes
called as cayoo dance. The background and meaning in this dance is evident. The
male simulates a roosters trying to attract the attention of a hen while the female
imitates the movements of a hen being circled by a rooster..