Dance dance revolution

My earliest memory is watching my mother teach the dance to my brother’s class when I was still in primary school in Hong Kong. She hand-sewed bandannas and costumes, sourced bamboo poles from construction sites and choreographed a performance for our school’s cultural show.

Tinikling is a dance that feels deeply familiar, passed down from generation to generation – a way of documenting our shared history through movement. Catherine Carmen, another Sugbo lead dancer, explains that tinikling has a way of “strongly binding us to Filipino cultural identity”. She says, “It reminds us of who we really are, our roots and traditions that manifest in daily living.”

There’s a fierce protectiveness over tinikling and other folk dances in the Philippines. Michael Limosnero has seen backlash on social media against certain routines which move away from the traditional forms. He says that’s not necessarily a bad thing, however: “It preserves the originality and the authenticity of the dance. It’s a unique dance to us; we’re dancing from the heart and from our history.”

Still, troupes have found ways to push boundaries. Variations include moving the poles while dancing, blindfolding dancers to demonstrate their skill or even setting the poles alight to add an intimidating new layer.

Others create something new. A hip-hop-style tinikling routine at Georgia Institute of Technology in the US went viral for trading traditional music for Lil Nas X and traditional costumes with streetwear. In this intriguing variation, two pairs of poles were laid over one another in a cross hatch, meaning dancers had double the number of poles to dodge.

Ethan Ray, the former president of the university’s Filipino Student Association and the choreographer behind the dance, was taught by his mother growing up and wanted to blend both sides of his Filipino American identity. “I’ve navigated the challenge of preserving our rich cultural traditions while also creating a unique identity,” he says. “This choreography highlighted that balance, sparking conversations about the evolution of our culture.”

Jamez de Ocampo, choreographer for the society’s upcoming spring festival, is keen to blur the lines between tradition and modernity further to “bring a fresh energy” while respecting its roots.

“We’re making tinikling accessible and exciting for a broader audience, ensuring that it continues to thrive,” says Ray. “At the same time, it’s important to keep the traditional form alive and respected.”