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Hybridity and National Identity:
Different Perspectives of Two National
Folk Dance Companies in the Philippines
Kanami Namiki
A b s t r a c tA b s t r a c tA b s t r a c t A b s t r a c tA b s t r a c t This paper will examine how Philippine folk dance performances by two state-sponsored folk dance groups, the Bayanihan Philippine National Folk Dance Company (Bayanihan) and the Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group (ROFG), both resident companies of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), has produced and developed the concept of hybridity, a dominant narrative of national identity and art style/form in postcolonial Philippines. The two dance companies have developed different dance styles/forms and staging approaches, representing two contrasting traditions of hybridity, which have brought about different effects to form and inform national identity. By comparing the two groups, I will analyze how they show different perspectives on the concept of hybridity, and hopefully present the specific way in which the two groups and their hybridity form and inform a national identity through Philippine folk dance performance.
KKKKKeeeeeywywywywywororororords:ds:ds:ds:ds: folk dance, national identity, hybridity, performance, postcolonial Philippines
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IntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroduction “PHILIPPINE folk dance” 1 refers to a contemporary folk dance genre that has emerged in postcolonial Philippines and continues to be popularized as part of the national process of constructing national identity and culture. In a Philippine folk dance presentation, a variety of local dances that show Hispanic, European, and other Asian cultural influences are usually strung together into a program and transformed into a stage show. Philippine folk dance thus represents and embodies a hybrid cultural identity of the Philippines through its hybrid art style/form that conflates high art and folklore, modern and traditional.
This paper will examine how the concept of hybridity, a dominant narrative of national identity and art style/form in postcolonial Philippines, has been produced and developed in Philippine folk dance performances by two state-sponsored folk dance companies, the Bayanihan Philippine National Folk Dance Company (Bayanihan) and the Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group (ROFG), both of which are resident folk dance companies of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). In a postcolonial climate in which Philippine culture has been injuriously seen as “fragmented” and “divided” after a long history of western colonization that has brought about drastic cultural changes to the country, Filipinos faced a serious identity problem. In this context, hybridity has been thought of in celebratory terms as a concept or strategy to construct and represent a distinctive Filipino national identity and culture, and Philippine folk dance has been used as a powerful medium for that purpose.
Bayanihan and ROFG, however, have developed different dance styles/forms and staging approaches, representing two contrasting traditions of hybridity, which have brought about different effects to form and inform national identity. By comparing the two groups, I will analyze how they show different perspectives toward the concept of hybridity, and hopefully present the specific way in which the two groups and their hybridity form and inform a national identity through Philippine folk dance performance.
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lumad suite is quite a newly created category in which dances of non- Muslim and non-Christian indigenous groups in Mindanao—such as the T’boli, Bagobo, and Bukidnon—are presented. Rural suite presents cheerful and playful dances of rural folks, such as “Tinikling” 4 and “Pandanggo sa Ilaw,” 5 which show unique fusion of western and local/ indigenous forms of dancing found at a mass level. By juxtaposing both Western and Asian cultural heritages coexisting in the Philippines, Philippine folk dance successfully gives visible form to the hybrid identity/ culture of the country—that is, a mixture of East and West.
Such a variety of local dances are then presented in a hybrid form or manner that intentionally adopts Western theater practice and aesthetics. Local dance forms are adjusted to theater concert stage, with each dance number set to beautiful and modern choreography and inserted into a flowing and well-rehearsed program. Technically speaking, a full-length program usually runs for about two hours, including a 10-15-minute intermission, and comprises a total of 25-30 dance numbers from the different suites. Each dance is shortened to 3-5 minutes, and presented one after the other, without breaks in between, in a visual, musical, and choreographic medley. Accordingly, dancers change their colorful costumes and accessories for every dance number, creating a kaleidoscopic effect for the audience. In short, local dances are completely framed and presented as a stage show.
Philippine folk dance in historical perspective:Philippine folk dance in historical perspective:Philippine folk dance in historical perspective:Philippine folk dance in historical perspective:Philippine folk dance in historical perspective: Changing discoursesChanging discoursesChanging discoursesChanging discoursesChanging discourses Philippine folk dance, which presents both western and Asian cultural elements visible in local dance traditions, brings the country’s colonial past to the fore. The Christian-Filipino representation of folk dance, although claimed to be uniquely “ours” or “Filipino” and not something just borrowed from the West, is quite unique in Southeast Asia. The age-old classical or court dances of many other Southeast Asian countries are presented as national and worthy of preservation, and do not show any trace or evidence of colonial past.
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The formation and early development of Philippine folk dance cannot be separated from postcolonial discourse on decolonization and reorientation to Asian identity of Filipinos. The long colonial history of the country changed its cultural landscape drastically, and Filipinos very much leaned toward western culture. Although geographically located in Southeast Asia, the Philippines was perceived to be closer culturally to Latin America. However, as a newly independent nation-state in Southeast Asia, there was an urgent need to establish a prominent, universally recognized national existence, and reconstruct its own national history and tradition by tracing back its precolonial or pre-Hispanic past. But unlike many other Southeast Asian countries, the Philippines has no ancient monument or ruin that shows the existence of a powerful ancient kingdom and glorious past before the arrival of Spain. This made it difficult for Filipinos to trace back their cultural roots or origins to the ancient past and use them as a source of national unity and pride.
The lack of solid cultural grounding or base for constructing and defining Filipino-ness has generated and complicated an identity problem in postcolonial Philippines. In this context, traditional dance, which is handed down from generation to generation since time immemorial, and consists of body, movement, dress, and music that are able to convey unique Filipino culture, has served as a significant medium in searching for and constructing a national Filipino identity.
Formation of program: “Identity crisis”
The basic, standard program format of the Philippine folk dance was not accidentally created but was based on a bitter postcolonial experience that featured the earnest involvement of Bayanihan Philippine National Folk Dance Company, which was formally founded in 1957 at the Philippine Women’s University (PWU).^6 In the Philippines, the first revival movement of folk dances and songs started as early as the 1930s, in which Francisca Reyes Aquino, who later became known as a pioneer researcher of folk dances in the Philippines, has played a central role. Dances collected and revived during this period, however, were largely derived from lowland
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movements. Old photographs very well show this point: a Bayanihan dancer’s body is always pulled up, the chin kept up, and the toes frequently pointed. Local costumes were also especially redesigned for stage use by sewing several pieces that constituted a set of traditional attire. These were formed by incorporating zippers and Velcro to facilitate quick costume changes. What is known as the “Maria Clara” costume was restyled by Bayanihan by sewing a blouse and a skirt together into one single dress. Tribal costumes were also redesigned to be modern and fashionable by exaggerating some ethnic motifs or icons while disregarding others or by replacing them with geometric motifs that may have nothing to do with the ethnic group the company represents but effectively project a tribal image. Added to these, simple dances were elaborated upon and orchestrated in a large-scale, spectacular dance production. A good example is the dance “Singkil,” which is named after the brass anklets used in the original dance that Bayanihan researched.^10
The “Singkil” dance of the Maranao: Bayanihan’s innovation
“Singkil” is one of Bayanihan’s signature dances derived from the Maranao, a Mindanao Muslim ethnoliguistic group. This is widely known today as the royal dance of a prince and a princess weaving in and out of crisscrossed bamboo poles that are clapped in syncopated rhythm; while the man manipulates a sword and shield, the woman artfully twirls a pair of fans. In the original context, according to Bayanihan’s interpretation, it was performed by women only, with the principal dancer being of royal blood. She is supported by her attendants, one of whom holds an umbrella over the princess’s head, while the other women clap a set of crisscrossed bamboo poles.
The “Singkil” was first researched by Henrietta Ele-Hoffer together with Lucrecia Urtula, a dance director of Bayanihan in the mid-1950s. Hoffer became the first “Singkil” dancer of the Philippine Women’s University even before Bayanihan was so named. According to her, the “Singkil” dancer whom she researched, Bae Tarhata Alonto of Lanao,^11 manipulated three fans in each hand.^12 Later on, the dance was set into a
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storyline based on an episode of theDarangan epic: Bantugan, a Maranao prince noted for his amorous exploits, is finally captivated by the lovely princess Gandingan whom he pursues in courtship. But thediwata, or guardian spirits that hover over the forest, in order to punish Bantugan for his erstwhile philanderings, beset his path with difficulties, causing a heaving of the earth and clashing of rocks that hinder his pursuit of the princess (Bayanihan’s interpretation). 13 In this rendering, the prince has a contingent of male warriors/assistants (counterparts of the princess’s court ladies) that serve as background fan dancers who simulate the waves of the sea with their movements. According to Trimillos (1988, p. 110), the fan dance is an incursion from another dance of a different Muslim group, allegedly thedaling-daling from the Tausug of Sulu archipelago. All these different elements—the original all-woman “Singkil” dance, theDarangan epic, and the daling-daling fan dance—have been incorporated into the Bayanihan “Singkil,” which is now the more recognized, iconic, and popular “Singkil” dance compared with the far less-known original.
With such theatricalization, local Filipino folk dances that were previously a part of physical education or of social/cultural events of village communities were recreated into a spectacular theater production and brought to the world as part of a burgeoning national discourse.
In 1958, Bayanihan presented a Philippine folk dance production at the Brussels Expo and received international recognition. Bayanihan’s success at the world stage made Philippine folk dance, as well as Bayanihan, world famous. Inspired by the company, many folk dance groups, some of which already existed and others newly formed, went for cultural and diplomatic missions abroad. 14 As Trimillos stated, “the Philippine was one of the first Asian nations to use dance as a primary means of establishing international standing” (1985, p. 104) to project and promote a new, “beautiful” image of the Philippines around the world. This subsequently brought about what Trimillos called an “era of dance diplomacy” in the 1960s and 1970s (1985, p. 104).
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established its reputation and dominant status in the field of Philippine folk dance, and the “Bayanihan model” of Philippine folk dance became dominant. In 1982, Bayanihan became a resident company of the Cultural Center of the Philippines.
Post-Marcos period: “Filipinization” movement
When Marcos was ousted in 1986 through the EDSA People Power Revolution, the CCP, a brainchild of Imelda, was internally reorganized and came up with new orientations. In previous years, the CCP has geared to be more western oriented and elite centered, regardless of Imelda’s populist appeals. Only selected artists could mount the stage of the CCP, Obusan admitted. But the new policies emphasized “Filipinization,” pluralism of aesthetics, and democratization. The new CCP began to encourage Filipino artists to create and develop original works and new art forms “deriving primarily from indigenous traditions and secondarily from foreign offerings,” while embracing and understanding cultural diversities of Filipinos to promote the “pluralism of aesthetics” in the performances of CCP resident companies (Sta. Maria 1999, p. 34). Under this new cultural discourse and new policies of the CCP, the Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group was elevated to the level of resident folk dance company of the CCP in 1986.
The ROFG was founded in 1972 by Ramon Obusan, a former researcher-dancer of Bayanihan since 1964. Familiar with methods in anthropological research, he became one of the earliest critics of Bayanihan as he witnessed his researched dances being made more elaborate and theatricalized, divorcing them from the original dances found in the field. Although he admitted that Bayanihan’s presentation was beautiful and effectively propagated Filipino dance culture, he began to feel that there must be another way to achieve the propagation of Filipino culture—in a manner that faithfully represents the dance close to the form as he originally saw it in the field. For this reason, he departed from Bayanihan and founded his own dance group that tries to mirror Filipino traditions and culture as close as possible to the original form of dance based on vast amount of
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data and artifacts that Obusan and his group have accumulated through continuous researches. However, as Obusan recalled, it was not easy to compete with Bayanihan at the time because Bayanihan was the favorite dance troupe of Imelda who preferred grandiose and spectacular performances (ably delivered by Bayanihan), and almost every folk dance groups followed Bayanihan.
The ROFG’s rise provided an alternative dance style and staging approach to Philippine folk dance, and the discourse has seemingly shifted to hybridization of “modern” and “traditional” elements in Philippine folk dance. The oppositional trends that the two dance companies represent have added new dynamics or “tensions” to the field of Philippine folk dance where the Bayanihan style once held dominance.
BB BBBaaaaayyyyanihan and Ryanihan and Ranihan and Ranihan and Ranihan and ROFOFOFOFOFG contrG contrG contrG contrG contrasted: Tasted: Tasted: Tasted: Tasted: Twwwwo trwo tro tro traditionso traditionsaditionsaditionsaditions ofofofofof hhhhhybridizationybridizationybridizationybridizationybridization The dance styles and performances of the two companies have evolved through the years, but basic representational strategies of Bayanihan and ROFG can be roughly explained by the concepts of “essentialization” and “particularization,” to borrow the terms of Shay (2002, pp. 14-17). In Bayanihan performances, cultural details or unique locality and identity of different ethnic/cultural groups appear to be generalized and reduced to represent one essentialized nation or a single national character. On the contrary, the ROFG uses authentic details of movements, costumes, and music to particularize a unique culture and identity of each ethnic/cultural community, emphasizing a multicultural nation. These distinctions between the two folk dance companies can be best observed in dance movements, dancer’s physicality, costumes, and staging approaches/technologies.
Dance movements
As I have mentioned earlier, Bayanihan applied basic ballet posture and foot-and-arm positions even to ethnic dance movements. Since local
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movement becomes more difficult. However, in Bayanihan, the skillful movements of the hands and arms and nuanced tenderness of the dance, when balleticized, become reduced to simple, large circular movements that are sharply executed with disruptive accents. The nuanced and minute movements are made bigger, and engulfed by the form of ballet.
The ROFG dancers are also taught to embody “natural” grace as exhibited by local performers. Therefore, their dance movements look so natural but seem to have no dynamics and, in short, might give the impression of being “ordinary” or “unprofessional,” thus unattractive to the general audience. This is misleading because their natural and seemingly effortless “non-artificial” movements actually result from continuous training and practice, and it is, in fact, more difficult to achieve “ordinariness.” I have seen many Obusan dancers who have acquired or internalized different kinesthetic senses of “other” ethnic/cultural communities in their own bodies and made them into something their own.
Dancer’s physicality
The Bayanihan dancers have similar faces and body shapes since dancers are carefully screened and selected to conform with the company’s standards in terms of height, body shape, skin complexion, age, and facial features—meaning, they must subscribe to a certain standard of beauty. When the similarity in physique is combined with their uniform movements and costumes and their precision on stage, a somewhat visually appealing image is created.
On the contrary, Obusan dancers are unsorted. As Obusan stated:
other groups present the Filipinos as such strikingly beautiful people that it resembles a beauty pageant. I don’t go for that kind of show.… My dancers have typical faces of typical Filipinos. (Balce 1998, p. 55)
In the Obusan group, there are various types of faces with all sorts of body types: mestizo andmoreno (fair- and brown-skinned), tall and
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small, thin and fat, and little kids to dancers in their 40s. Today, Obusan has Batang ROFG (ROFG kids) group, each member of which is trained to become a “musician-dancer” who can both dance and play music since early age. This wide range of physical types and ages is effectively put to use in portraying “real-life” people, enabling the group to produce a wider range of dance repertoires and productions. For example, in staging a Tausug (Jolo, Sulu) child wedding ritual, the stage is filled with a large number of children who perform different kinds of “Pangalay” dance. The children’s unlearned dance movements are perfect for creating an illusion of a real ritual in the field.
Costumes
As I have mentioned earlier, the Bayanihan costumes are especially redesigned for stage use, and well fitted to dancer’s body to emphasize the body line. The company has modernized and modified costumes by blurring cultural specificity of each ethnic group, and this often makes it difficult to identify the respective ethnic communities they represent, but their costumes still retain some essence of certain ethnic/cultural groups and capture the look of traditional attires.
In the ROFG, costumes, hair and body accessories, and hand props are also kept in their original or traditional forms as much as possible, and the respective costumes are used for ethnic/cultural communities. Some of them are antique pieces collected by Obusan, while other items are reproduced by the locals/natives of the area being represented—for example, weaves that they produce for commercial purpose. The ROFG sometimes duplicates the original based on careful research and close imitation. Naturally, many of the group’s costumes are not specially designed for stage use and for the dancer’s body. Therefore, certain techniques are required to put on and take off a complete set of costume and accessories within the short period of time allowed for changing outfits in between dances, and dancers also learn techniques in properly manipulating on stage the “non-stage-adapted” costumes, especially elegant Filipina gowns with long trail at the back.
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requirements of an audience of a different century, an audience nurtured in high technology and the information age.^16
The company began to experiment with new approach to its choreography, production design, costuming, and overall concept, presenting Hollywood-like stage effects and introducing new technology (such as projected images, lasers, and computers) to their productions to keep up with the world trend of theater arts and to reach out to the younger generation. In doing so, what used to be a classic dance repertoire of Philippine folk dance was recreated into a new-looking dance, like the Bayanihan’s “Maglalatik,” one of the iconic dances of Philippine folk dance.
“Maglalatik” dance: The Bayanihan’s treatment “Maglalatik,” a popular number of the rural dance suite, is a unique dance that involves male dancers with coconuts shells attached to various parts of their bodies that are tapped by shells in their hands to the beat of music while vigorously dancing. The dance is fun and exciting because of the quick movements of the hands from the clicking on shells strapped to the knee, then to the hips, the chest, and the shoulder blades, in rapid succession. The accompanying clicking sound adds a festive flavor to the experience. This is a popular version of “Maglalatik” performed by the ROFG and other folk dance troupes. But Bayanihan decided to heighten the excitement even further. Unlike the typical entrance for “Maglalatik,” which involves male dancers cheerfully entering the stage as a group, the Bayanihan version starts dramatically: a solo male dancer stands on the dark stage with a spotlight on him. Sometimes, smoke is used as an additional effect. He starts clicking coconut shells in slow motion and in silence without any music accompaniment. Then he gradually increases his tempo, eventually clicking faster and faster, until the rest of the dancers accompanied by lively music burst into the stage. The transitions from silence to lively music, from darkness to a bright stage, and from a lone dancer moving slowly to a larger group moving vigorously, achieve a dramatic and captivating theater experience.
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In Bayanihan’s performance, individual dances are generally shown one after another as a dance piece, detached from the larger cultural context and functions of dance. The ROFG also uses this standard delivery format, but Obusan has tried to recontextualize a dance event by bringing in the larger cultural context where a dance is originally embedded. Dance is often presented within a larger ethnographic narrative—such as wedding, death, childbirth, circumcision, healing ritual, or feast—and a community or village scene is usually reproduced on the stage. Thus the group’s dance is technically not a dance piece but rather a dance drama.
Since lots of ethnographic information/knowledge is embedded in their performance, the group recently calls this kind of performance as “Informance”—a combination of two terms: “information” and “performance.” Take, for example, the Yakan wedding called “pagkawin” of Basilan, Sulu. In chronological sequence, Obusan was able to show the whole process of the wedding in 15-20 minutes while highlighting different phases of the wedding ceremony—such as the preparation of the bride and groom, a parade to the bride’s house, the villagers’ preparation of the wedding venue, the wedding rite and a feast—without putting in any complicated choreography and theatrical movements. ROFG’s recontextualization of the Yakan wedding proceeds in the following manner:
The “Pansak” dance of the Yakan people On the stage, a fully dressed Yakan groom is being attended to by a female assistant who applies traditional makeup on his face. She puts white dots and lines in various patterns all over his face. The groom wears his kris or sword on his waist to complete his preparation for his wedding. Preceded by the colorfulpanji andtipas-tipas banners, a parade of male warriors and Yakan ladies who are carrying food covered with a decorative tutop^17 starts out, followed by the groom, who is standing on the shoulders of male attendant and followed by a black umbrella holder. After the parade, thetumahik, or warrior dance, is performed by males using a
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into the traditional customs, values, and aesthetics of “other” fellow Filipinos as well as their own to search for what can be called “essence”— deep-rooted and shared by all Filipinos regardless of differences in religion, culture, and language.
DifDifDif f DifDiffffferererererent perspectivent perspectivent perspectivent perspectivent perspectives of national identityes of national identityes of national identityes of national identityes of national identity,,,,, multifmultifmultifmultifmultifaceted efaceted efaceted efaceted efaceted efffffects of hfects of hects of hects of hects of hybridityybridityybridityybridityybridity As we have seen, Bayanihan has progressively theatricalized Philippine folk dance by incorporating “new” and “modern” things to keep up with the world trend of theater arts and to reach out to a wider audience. In the process, internal cultural differences among ethnic/cultural communities are blurred to create one essential national character. In particular, the use of basic postures and positions of ballet as the basis for performing all local dances has produced a sense of unity among all different dances, further contributing to the creation of a common sense of Filipino-ness. On the contrary, the ROFG has rather traditionalized Philippine folk dance by going back to distinctive local tradition and aesthetics, and incorporating more “traditional” elements. The group’s strategy of emphasizing cultural difference and specificity has shaped and defined cultural identity of each ethnic/cultural community, which reorients to multicultural society of the Philippines. Through closely looking into old traditions of various ethnic/cultural communities, the group seeks to reconstruct the essence of “Filipino-ness” that withstands historical/cultural changes. This idea is based on the assumption that an “original” or “pure” Filipino culture previously existed, and this must have been better preserved in indigenous culture, which is less influenced by western culture.
The concern of the ROFG for purity or authenticity may be understandable, given the historical process in which Philippine folk dance was produced and developed. In a country like Indonesia, for example, the so-called traditional or classical forms of dance were well developed and well established before local artists embarked on experimenting with new or modern elements or technologies. The artists may be well aware of what
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is traditional or classical and what is not. Local dances in the Philippines, however, when popularized in the late 1950s, were already modernized and innovated when presented in a program prior to the establishment or codification of solid cultural base or traditional forms of dance. In other words, the Philippine folk dance started with highly theatricalized form of dance. In this context, the ROFG has tried to restore and codify traditional forms of dances looking into the dances found in the field, although technically these “original” dances might not be traditional and authentic anymore. However, the presence of the two dance companies provides the idea of theatrical and traditional performances and thus effectively reconstructs a classification of “modern” and “traditional.”
The Bayanihan’s version of hybridity, which is aesthetically pleasing but unable to sustain cultural authenticity, however, has sometimes generated criticism, especially from local communities as well as a small circle of dance scholars and newspaper critics who regard it as too theatricalized and commercialized. But, with its innovative and creative performances, the company has constantly gone out on international tour and won several international awards to prove the “world-class” artistry of the Filipino to the outside world. The company’s success in an international sphere subsequently brings national pride back to Filipinos, from which a sense of Filipino identity is drawn.
After Bayanihan was officially designated as the “national” folk dance company in 1998 through Republic Act 8626, it seems that the roles of Bayanihan and ROFG have diverged. Their different performance styles with varying traditions of hybridization now serve different sets of audiences and exist for different needs and purposes of the state and the nation. Bayanihan more frequently appears in international events hosted by the state, and more often goes out of the country as a cultural representative of the Philippines, whereas the ROFG focuses on performances within the country and specializes in “specific” folk dance productions to produce and provide cultural knowledge on Filipino traditional culture for educational purposes. In other words, Bayanihan has come to represent Filipino hybrid identity to the world through the creativity and artistry of
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