Posts Tagged ‘Binasuan’

Graceful Movements and a Colorful Dance of Binasuan

Written by MichaelZ on December 31, 2009 – 3:45 am -

About Binasuan and it’s dance steps

Philippine dances in the Philippines are known for its creativity, and one such dance in the country that shouts creativity is the Binasuan. This dance is a local dance rooted in the culture of the Pangasinense people- people from the northern Philippine province of Pangasinan. In this province, the term ‘binasuan‘ stands for something. In the local language, this word refers to the use of a drinking glass. With that in mind it can be easy to realize that the dance from this province is performed with the utilization of drinking glasses. To be more definite, this dance has its roots in Bayambang, one of the towns in Pangasinan province.

What this dance demonstrates is elegant movements on the part of the dancer, balance and some amount of expertise. Dancing is done with three glasses that are half-full with water, with the first glass on top of her head and the two other glasses on both palms of the hand. Balance and expertise is revealed when the dancer drills for a turn, sit or roll without slipping the water or dropping any of the three glasses to the floor. The typical arrangement in this dance calls for one girl though there will be times when three or more are called upon to perform.

As with other Filipino dances, this Binasuan dance from Bayambang will call for a costume, the right count and music and the formation of the dancers just before the dance is started.

. Costume. In terms of costume, the dance calls for the Balintawak costume with the tapis and the pañuelo.

. Music. The music used in this dance is composed of two parts and then danced to the tune of Pitoy Oras.

. Count. Measure is essential and in this dance one, two or three to a measure is utilized.

. Formation. The dance begins with the dancer or the dancers enter the hall from one side of the room, stop at the center then face the viewers.

The Binasuan dance will start that way, with the dancers coming at one side of the room and then moving to the center hall and then facing the audience. While they are moving towards the center of the hall, the music A is played for the first time. Dancing this local dance of the north requires some steps that should not be take out of the program otherwise the program will lose its identity.

The following are the general steps on how to dance this local tradition.

. Dancers start with the right foot and she should take eight waltz steps forward to the center of the hall. The glasses should be held in front and the elbows should be close to the waist. The right hand must be moved next to the chest and down the hips alternately as the left hand moves down at the hip level and goes up to the chest level in an alternating method. The alternating movements of the two hands will go on for the next eight measures.

. Music A will then play for the second time and this will be the times when the dancer will dance sideward right and left alternately and doing this for eight times. The right hand will be raised to the head level and the left hand will be held to the waist as the dancer continues to waltz sideward to the right. The dancer will chance position with every measure. Again the movements of the left and the right hand will alternate upward and downward as with previous step.

. Music B of the list will then play and this will be the point when the dancer will begin on her right foot and she will take four waltz steps on a slope to the right. She then raises the right hand obliquely to head level with the left hand down to the hip for four measures. Hands once more shift upward and downward on alternating movements.

These movements are just the first half of the dance and a few more steps are required in order to complete the program. The Binasuan dance of the north will simply utilize the abovementioned steps and repeat these steps on the second half of the dance. At times, some new steps are introduced like the placing of weights at either the right or the left foot of the dancer, all with the intention of dancing gracefully without dropping the glass.

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