Tinikling

Tinikling (traditionally written tiniclín) is a traditional Philippine folk dance which originated prior to Spanish colonialism in the area. The dance involves at least 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 this dance are hopping, jumping, and turning.

==Origin== 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). The term tinikling literally means "to perform it tikling-like."thumb|The Buff-banded rail (Gallirallus philippensis), one of the birds locally known in the Philippines as tikling, which were the inspiration for the movements of the danceThe dance originated in Palo, Leyte, Island in the Visayas. 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. Dancers imitate the tikling bird's legendary grace and speed by skillfully maneuvering between large bamboo poles. However, other known stories also explain where this national dance originated from. A more popular one is the legend, without historical evidence, that says the tinikling dance originated from Filipino field workers during the time of Spanish colonization. It was a form of punishment for workers who worked too slowly in the large haciendas the Spanish had. More specifically, two spine-tipped bamboo poles were used to hit the feet of the field workers. Legend claims that after a while, the workers trained themselves to dodge the strikes of the bamboo poles. What was once a way to avoid punishment now became a form of art and dance.