The foreign folk dances in the Philippines are mainly Spanish-style dances, and after the Spanish occupied the Philippines in the 16th century, new dances appeared in the Philippines along with missionary activities, and these dances are characterized by the cheerfulness and spiciness of the Spanish dances from the rhythms to the dances. You can see some directly from the West, with distinctive Spanish characteristics of the ballroom dance, this dance movement, formation arrangement are obviously absorbed the form of Western dance, especially the Spanish traditional dance vocabulary and expression, but it is not as enthusiastic and unrestrained as the Western dance, the movement of the staccato force, on the contrary, by the Oriental people's national character and the influence of the aesthetic point of view, the dance is soft and elegant, delicate and warm. This type of dance has Christian overtones and is a Western dance completely different from the traditional Filipino dance. In the beginning, the dance performers were almost all monks, who adopted the local traditional performance form and performed Spanish dances and various European dances in monasteries or plazas. Some of the local Filipinos were influenced by these dances and began to imitate the Spanish dances and combine them with the local traditional dances, thus making the local dances lose their primitive and pure wildness and take on the characteristics of the Spanish dances. The performers wear Filipinoized Spanish costumes and usually hold bamboo clappers. The main dances include the Courtship Dance, the Yalai Dance, and the Baja Batmani Dance.
1. The Filipino Lamp Dance is derived from the Spanish dance, which involves lively stepping and clapping to the rhythmic changes of three-quarter beats, and which requires excellent balancing skills to keep the three oil lamps placed on the head and on the back of each hand steady.
2. Maria Clara Dance
The Maria Clara Dance reflects the condition of one of the main female characters in a literary work depicting the situation of Filipinos during the Spanish colonial period. She is depicted as a Filipino woman of both virtue and nobility. The dance uses the graceful props of Spanish dance and personalized local props such as bamboo rattles and Asian fans. The women wear mariachi clara dresses representing European styles, while the men wear traditional Filipino embroidered long-sleeved shirts made of pineapple fibers.
3. Sayo Sabanco Dance
The dance, which arose from the small island of Cuyo, Palawan, is a festive dance, and is celebrated every St. Augustine's Day in the traditional way - parades, parade performances, and mini-performances - by people from all over the island of Cuyo and the neighboring islets. The Cuyo people usher in their holiday by dancing this island dance, which is strongly characterized by the old Cuyo ethnicity and Spanish-style steps.
4. Pantomina Dance
This dance, which means "Dove Dance," is the highlight of the Kasanga Yayahan Festival, which is held every year in Sorsogon City during the third week of October. Participants, mainly adults, wear colorful costumes and dance to the tune of Pantomina songs. Pantomina is a courtship dance that mimics the courtship of a dove, which is then expressed through the dance of a man trying to impress a woman.