A Comparison Between Singkil and Indarapatra
A Princess from Two Worlds “Sayaw sa Kasingkil”, or commonly known as “Singkil” is a famous Philippine Folk Dance that expresses hierarchies of royalty and power. Belong in the “Moro Suite” of Philippine Folk Dance, Singkil originates from the north Mindinao region of the Philippines and is derived from Muslim culture. There are two known versions of Singkil-- the classical version and the modern Indarapatra version. Both version deliver very similar performances of choreography. Both versions consists of a princess, prince, court of fan girls, and male bamboo tappers all in which are clothes in colorful, silk malong embellished in jewels . What differs the two dances, however, is the power behind the characters and story. The biggest difference in these powers lies within the character of the princess of each dance. Both the classical and Indarapatra version of the Singkil dance illustrates different levels of gender, class, and sexuality through the different presentations of power the princesses in each dance holds. The historical background story of the two Singkils greatly contrast from each other. The classical, original version of the Singkil takes place in the land of Bembaran. It is about a beautiful princess, being courted and rescued by a hero prince. The “diwatas”, the guardian spirits of Bembaran, had kidnapped the princess and placed her in a forest where the prince discovers her. The diwatas caused an earthquake and the princess ran for safety. Despite the fierce earthquake causing boulders to fall and all of nature to shake, the princess “gracefully stepped, hopped, jumped, and hurdled the little rocks and swiftly passed through the trembling trees” (hiyas.org). Thus, the Singkil dance mimics the trials and gracefulness of the legendary princess as she avoided entangling her feet in the obstacles of the cursed forest until prince saves her. Indarapatra’s Singkil was originally a play that was made into a dance by the Bayanihan Dance Company, a
Bibliography: Conquergood, Dwight. "Performing as a Moral Act: Ethical Dimensions of the Ethnography Performance." Literature in Performance. N.p.: n.p., 1985. 1-12. Print. De Certeau, Michel. "Chapter VII: Walking the City." The Practice of Everyday Life. Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California, 1984. 91-110. Print. "Hiyas Philippine Folk Dance Company." Hiyas Philippine Folk Dance Company. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2013. Shresthova, Sangitha. Swaying to an Indian Beat... Dola Goes My Diasporic Heart: Exploring Hindi Film Dance. N.p.: n.p., 2004. Print.