Abstract
Folk dances have been part of Philippine culture which makes the country unique and have been preserved through documentation. The documentation of intangible cultural heritage has been a long stand challenge within the archival community. Early records on Philippine dance had been written by foreigners and true documentation of dance only came in the second quarter of the 20th century, by Francisca Reyes Aquino in the late 1920s. As dance research, this study will be qualitative and ethnographic in nature which will engage in the philosophical and socio-cultural underpinnings of the unpublished local folk dances of Merida, Leyte. More so, this study will end in view of developing dance literature for cultural preservation and aims to contribute to Aquino’s pioneering works. As a method, this study will adopt the Philippine Folk Dance Documentation Framework visualized by Domingo and dance analysis will adopt Cariaga’s guidelines for analysis of specific movements. “Ang Kutsero”, “Binaylehan” and “Pamabhas” are folk dances that depict the rural life of the town folks. “Jota Merida” is a Spanish derived local version of the folk dance of Merida, Spain. This study will foster nationalism and patriotism, promote appreciation for one’s own native dances, and develop awareness for the need to preserve and disseminate traditional dances.
