Notes

Festival dances draw the people’s culture by portraying the people’s ways of life through
movements, costumes and implements inherent to their place of origin. Some of the
famous festivals in the country include Sinulog of Cebu, Dinagyang of Iloilo, Ati-atihan of
Kalibo, Aklan, Buyogan and Lingayan of Leyte, Bangus of Dagupan, T’nalak of South
Cotabato, Masskara of Bacolod City, Bambanti of Isabela, and Kadayawan of Davao.
Many others, especially from Luzon, are now paving their way to join the country’s
festival of festivals, the Aliwan Fiesta which is done in the month of April.
- Filipinos do festivals primarily to celebrate. There are a multitude of reasons for this
reason. We celebrate our unity amidst the diversity of cultures and we celebrate our
industry bringing about a bountiful harvest.
- Basically, festivals are a form of entertainment that attracts foreign and domestic tourists
to visit a place eventually leading to the elevation of the Filipino’s quality of life.
- Whatever festival we celebrate, be it done to honor a religious icon or celebrate our
industry. Festival dances are a reflection of the unity of the Filipino community that
despite the economic, social, environmental, cultural and political challenges we face
every day, there can be no other race more resilient than ours.
- Festival dances are cultural dances performed to the strong beats of percussion
instruments by a community of people sharing the same culture usually done in honor of
a Patron Saint or in thanksgiving of a bountiful harvest.
- It may be religious or secular in nature. But the best thing about festivals is that they
add to the merry-making and festivities where they are celebrated, the reason why they
are called festival dances after all.

They are unique in terms of their movements and costume. All of those energetic
movements and steps they created it brings them to another kind of level of
performances,yet the basic fundamental of all movements are the basic locomotor and non
– locomotor movements

Locomotor Movements

- These are movements that allow the body to move from one point in space to
another. It is canned from two words, “locos” which means place and “motor” which

means movement. They include the following:
PREPARATORY MOVEMENT:

Step - This is the basis of all locomotor movements. It prepares you to move in any direction
you wish to go. It is defined as transfer of weight from one foot to the other. Try one! Stand
with your weight equally distributed to both of your feet. Now, let your right foot carry it all.
You got it! That’s what you call a step.
Walk – These are series of steps executed by both of
your feet alternately in any direction. In executing a
walk, observe that there’s this moment when both feet
are in contact with the ground while one foot supports
the weight and transfers it to the other.
Run – These are series of walks executed quickly in
any direction wherein only one foot stays on the
ground while the other is off the ground.
Jump - This movement is simply described by having
both feet lose its contact with the ground. There five
ways to do it:
• Take off from one foot and land on the same;
• Take off from one foot and land on the other;

Take off from one foot and land on both feet;
• Take off from both feet and land on one foot;
• Take off from both feet and land on both.
Gallop - a forward slide movement: front foot steps
forward with a little spring followed by the transfer
of body weight to the back foot. The same lead foot
always stays in front throughout the gallop.
Leap - jump or spring a long way, to a great height, or with great
force;
take off with one foot and land on the opposite foot.
Hop – is a springing action that involves taking off from
one foot and landing on the same foot

Skip – is a step of hop on one foot, followed by a step and a hop
on the other foot.

Slide – similar to gallop performed with the right or left foot
leading
Run - is the activity of moving fast on foot, faster
series of walk.

NON – LOCOMOTOR MOVEMENTS

These are movements that are done in one point in space without transferring to another
point. They don’t allow you to move from one place to the other. These movements include:
➢ Flexion - It is the act of decreasing the angle of a joint. Another term for flexion is to
bend. If you bend a joint, like your elbow or knee, you are performing flexion.
➢ Extension - This is the opposite of flexion. You are extending if you are increasing the
angle of a joint. Stretching is another word for extension.
➢ Contraction - A muscle movement done when it shortens, narrows and tightens using
sufficient amount of energy in the execution.
➢ Release - A muscle movement opposite to contraction done when it let goes or let
looses of being held into a shortening movement.
➢ Collapse - To deliberately drop the exertion of energy into a body segment.
➢ Recover - The opposite of collapse. This is to regain the energy exerted into a body
segment. Rotation - To rotate is to move a body segment allowing it to complete a
circle with its motion. It’s not only limited to circumduction which is done in ball and
socket joints. Rotation can also be done in wrists, waist, knees and ankles.
➢ Twist - To move a body segment from an axis halfway front or back or quarter to the
right or left as in the twisting of the neck allowing the head to face right or left and
the like. Pivot - To change the position of the feet or any body part that carries the
body’s weight allowing the body to face in a less than 360 degrees turn.
➢ Turn - To move in a turning movement with a base of support, usually a pointed foot,
the other raised, while equilibrium is maintained until the completion of the turn.

After learning the basic fundamental of all the movements that are used in festival
dances which is the locomotor and non-locomotor movements, let us learn the basic folk dance
steps, dance terms and fundamental position of the arms that are also used in Festival Dances.
Dance Terms:
1. Arms in Reverse T position – arms are horizontally
sideward, elbows at right angles, forearms parallel to
head, elbows are at shoulder level, fist slightly
closed, facing each other.
2. Arms in Lateral Position – Both arms are at one side, either Right or
Left.
3. Hayon – Hayon – to place one forearm in front of the
waist and the other at the back of the waist.

Fundamental Position of the Arms:
1. 1st position - Arms -both raised forward in a circle in front of chest with the
finger tips about an inch apart.
2. 2nd position- Arms -Both raised sideward with a graceful curve at shoulder level.
3. 3rd position- Arms – One arm raised sideward as in 2nd position; another arm
raised upward.
4. 4th position- Arms – One arm raised in front as in 1st position. Another arm
raised overhead.
5. 5th position- Arms- Both arms raised overhead.

Link for Basic fundamental position of