Goquingco, Leonor (1917-2005), was a Filipina choreographer (creator of dances) who became famous for her daring and innovative use of folk dance traditions to create a modern, theatrical dance style. Called the “Mother of Philippine dance,” Goquingco choreographed dozens of works, mostly to her own storylines. She established her own company, the Filipinescas Dance Company, and founded the Philippine Ballet Theatre.
One of Goquingco’s most important early works was Trend: Return to the Native (1941), a 40-minute folkloric ballet that she wrote, produced, and danced herself. The ballet featured traditional Filipino dances, folk steps, and modern jazz, and included a sequence of tennis and basketball movements incorporated into a balletic style. In the finale, Goquingco danced the role of a pilgrim in search of the Filipino soul.
In 1946, Goquingco created a sensation with her production The Bird and the Planters by dancing the tinikling before delegates and guests of the United Nations in New York City. The tinikling is a Filipino dance that makes use of bamboo poles. Dancing partners step in and out of spaces made by the poles with great care and precision to avoid getting tripped or pinned. Goquingco’s performance was part of a longer work in which she combined several dances about the rites of rice-planting into a single ballet. The climax was her fast-paced interpretation of the tinikling.
Other works by Goquingco include The Firebird (1957), The Clowns (1957), Noli Suite (1957), The Magic Garden (1958), and Filipinescas: Philippine Life, Legend and Lore in Dance (1960). Filipinescas is a synthesis of legend, history, and tradition that ranks as perhaps Goquingco’s most famous work. Its subject is the Philippine observance of the Christian season of Lent, and it consists of three major sections: The Antipos (The Flagellant), Salubong (Meeting), and Pabasa (Reading). Goquingco uses familiar Philippine games, such as palo-sebo (climbing bamboo poles), sipa (a kicking game), and juego de anillo (a game on horseback), in her depiction of the Easter celebration.
Goquingco also wrote plays and poetry. Her play Her Son Jose was first performed by the Barangay Theatre Guild in 1955. She used the pen name Cristina Luna for her poems published in Manila journals.
Leonora Orosa Goquingco was born on July 24, 1917, in Jolo, in the island province of Sulu in the Philippines. Her parents were pioneer doctors for the Muslim community in Jolo. She was educated at the Philippine Women’s University and at St. Scholastica’s College in Manila, where she received a degree in education in 1937. She later studied at Columbia University in New York City. Goquingco was awarded the title of National Artist in Dance from the Philippine government in 1976. She died on July 15, 2005.
