Arts >> Dance >> Modern Dance

What is the history of bakya dance in Philippines?

The bakya dance originated in the province of Batangas during the Spanish colonial period in the Philippines. It is said that farmers wore wooden clogs or "bakya" while working in the field. Their dance is characterized by their stomping of bakyas.

At some point, these farmers decided to make a dance. They decided to use a pair of bakya on each foot in order to accentuate the tapping beat on the wooden slippers as a form of percussive tap dance when they did that dance that involved rhythmic stomping in order to make this distinct, lively step of their dance a distinct characteristic. They created dance movements to show a farmer having fun. The dance eventually caught on locally during their town fiestas until it developed in the present form when bakya dance groups would go against each other in an upbeat musical competition dancing on an old piece of lumber wood flooring called the "tabla". There are about six different styles but the best known bakya groups are Balisong Bakya of Nasugbu and Alangan Bakya Group.

Modern Dance

Related Categories