Think of Tinikling with double the bamboos and triple the risks. In Singkil, it’s difficult to stand up on a pair of bamboos and dance gracefully while keeping your confidence and pride intact.
Singkil, also called as the Princess Dance or The Royal Maranao Dance, was based on Maranao’s epic tale Ramayana. It was derived from Princess Gandingan’s graceful act of avoiding the falling trees and rocks in a forest during an earthquake caused by the fairies.
Singkil is a courtship dance between a Prince and a Princess. Dancers of Singkil are not encouraged to smile. Instead, they hold their chin up, signifying the seriousness and sophistication of respected women.
The famed Maranao dance is composed of three groups of dancers. The first group includes at least three bamboo dancers, the second includes at least six fan dancers, and the last includes the Princess, her maid, and the Prince. At least seven men are needed; four will be the bamboo clickers and three will be the bamboo carriers. The music’s rhythm turns faster as the dance progresses.
The presentation of the dance is divided into three parts. In the first part, the bamboo dancers perform the introductory dance. The dancers wear pointed finger accessories similar to those worn by Thai dancers. The dance steps of these bamboo dancers include hopping and stepping on the ground.
As the performance progresses, each dancer climbs on a pair of bamboos held horizontally by two men and continues to perform hand and body movements while standing on the bamboos. After this, the bamboo dancers are seated on the bamboos and wait for the fan dancers’ turn.
The fan dancers enter the stage through slow point steps and perform the fan dance. Each fan dancer holds a fan in each hand and uses her wrist to move the fan in several different ways. Fan dances include the swirling motion of the hand and wrist and the up-down movement of the fans. The fan dancers exit the scene to announce the arrival of the Princess.
The arrival of the Princess, which takes several minutes long, shows the grandeur of the Maranao royalty. The Princess, seated on a pair of bamboos, enters the stage along with a maiden who carries an umbrella for her and climbs down to dance on the ground. She dances in a stationary position, moving just her hips and her arms. Like the fan dancers, she holds a fan on each hand and swirls it along with her body movements. Then, the Prince enters the stage and dances along with the Princess. This is the highlight of the Singkil where the Prince courts the Princess and dances along with her while avoiding the clicking bamboos.
The colors and textures of the silk dresses and the intricacy of the accessories used in Singkil makes it a dance fit for the royalty. Its refined and complex dance moves define the rich Maranao culture that had marked Filipino talents and identity. - EDREE ESTAURA
Photograph Source:
http://www.lakbaypilipinas.com/images/lanao_maranao_singkil.jpg
2 comments:
This is really cool... because of this I remember my high school days.. hehehehe.. but now I am more into hip-hop Filipino dancers.... ^_^
Thank you for featuring my photo. Gid bless po :D
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