30 June 2022

Modern tinikling

"Filipino students of Georgia tech in Atlanta, USA performed a traditional tinikling folk dance but with a modern hiphop twist"
Tinikling is a traditional Philippine folk dance which originated during the Spanish colonial era. The dance involves two people beating, tapping, and sliding bamboo poles on the ground and against each other in coordination with one or more dancers who step over and in between the poles in a dance. It is traditionally danced to rondalla music, a sort of serenade played by an ensemble of stringed instruments which originated in Spain during the Middle Ages. The locomotor movements used in tinikling are hopping, jumping, and turning.

The name tinikling is a reference to birds locally known as tikling, which can be any of a number of rail species, but more specifically refers to the slaty-breasted rail (Gallirallus striatus), the buff-banded rail (Gallirallus philippensis), and the barred rail (Gallirallus torquatus).

It imitates the movement of the tikling birds as they walk between grass stems, run over tree branches, or dodge bamboo traps set by rice farmers." 

Today tinikling is taught throughout the United States. In grades K-12 the dance is used as an aerobic exercise for physical education classes, to help expand physical movements such as hand coordination, foot speed, and also rhythm. Tinikling is commonly performed at schools and on special occasions, such as the Filipino Independence Day, as a celebration of Filipino culture and Filipino pride.
Details about the technique at the Wikipedia link.  You learn something every day.

6 comments:

  1. The happiness is infectious. I'm not much of a dancer, but I'd try that. With some foam rubber around my ankles with rubberbands just in case.

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    1. Suggestion: instead of putting foam rubber on your ankles, get some of those foam rubber "pool noodles", then put something on the ends to make that satisfying "clink" sound. Then all you need is a couple friends, some music, and maybe a recreational beverage...

      Try it. YOLO.

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  2. I remember our gym teacher us how to do this back in grade school (too many eons ago to remember, lol) and it was a lot of fun. It had the added plus of wearing out kids on a day of bad weather when we we couldn't go outside.

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  3. We used to do this in school back in the 60s. I can still recall some of the patterns. It was a lot of fun!

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  4. A great deal of skill, a great deal of concentration, and lots if fun! Great video!

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  5. Reminds me of what we called Chinese jump rope. You would tie rubber bands together and make a ring long enough for two girls to put around ankles, spread feet apart being far apart from each other to let another girl to put foot in middle, out again, grab close side with foot, take over far side, back again, repeat. a lot of fun and exercise. Always wondered why it was called Chinese. I guess it came under heading of Oriental for us!

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