#1 Philippine Traditional Folk Cultural Dance PART-01

Philippine Traditional Folk Cultural Dance

The cariñosa is a Philippine folk dance of Hispanic origin. It is closely associated with the island of Panay and the Visayas region in general. The word cariñosa is from the Spanish cariñosa meaning the affectionate one. Most Filipina women can be described as karinyosa.

This is a courtship dance that portrays acts of flirtation between a man and a woman. The dancers perform steps resembling hide-and-seek movements. The woman holds a handkerchief or sometimes a fan.
According to folklore, this traditional dance was first performed by a young woman named Kanang who was the best dancer in the province of Surigao del Norte. At a baptismal reception, she was asked to perform and she improvised her dance steps to imitate the way a duck walks and splashes water on its back to attract a mate.