Lucrecia Reyes Urtula
Lucrecia Reyes Urtula | |
---|---|
![]() Lucrecia Reyes-Urtula from the Order of National Artists (NCCA) | |
Born | Lucrecia Faustino Reyes (1929-06-29)June 29, 1929 |
Died | August 4, 1999(1999-08-04) (aged 70) Manila, Philippines |
Occupation(s) | Choreographer, theater director, teacher, author, researcher |
Awards | ![]() |
Lucrecia Faustino Reyes-Urtula (June 29, 1929 – August 4, 1999) was a Filipino choreographer, theater director, teacher, author and researcher on ethnic dance. She was the founding director of the Bayanihan Philippine National Folk Dance Company and was named National Artist of the Philippines for dance in 1988.[1][2][3]
She worked to translate folk dancing into the realm of theater. She adapted indigenous dance traditions to the demands of the modern stage, and performances of her works received international attention.[citation needed]
Early life
Born in Iloilo, Reyes was the daughter of Antonia Faustino, a nurse, and Col. Leon S. Reyes of the Philippine Constabulary (PC), who later served as a brigadier general and a military governor. She grew up amidst music and dance. Her mother's family included many musicians and her musician father could play many instruments. He was a regular participant at fiestas and special occasions in his hometown of Calamba.[4]
Reyes' father was an ardent lover of folk and ethnic art. Due to the demands of his military career, the family moved frequently and was consecutively assigned to Iloilo, Jolo, Kalibo, Capiz, Surigao, Dumaguete, Bacolod, Negros Oriental, Cotabato, Cagayan de Oro, Misamis Oriental, Lanao and Mountain Province. Reyes learned to appreciate the distinct cultures of the various ethnic groups and was an active participant in the celebrations of festivals and rituals. Against this backdrop, Reyes developed an enduring interest in the arts, music and dance.[5]
While in Baguio, Reyes enrolled in a ballet class run by a Russian immigrant. She later obtained a degree in Education, specializing in Physical Education. She was asked by Francisca Reyes-Aquino, a pioneer in the revival of folk dance, to assist in documenting folk dances.
Career
Upon graduation, she taught at her alma mater, the Philippine Women's University. During this period, Reyes worked to collect and document tribal and ethnic dances, which she believed were a great cultural treasure waiting to be tapped and adapted to the stage. She used her knowledge of choreography and creative touch to transform these tribal dances into stage performances. At PWU she organized the Filipino Folk Music and Dance Committee, which concentrated on choreographed folk dances and their performance at fiestas and special occasions.[5]
She enrolled at San Francisco University (graduate studies in dance drama), Martha Graham School of Modern Dance at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and Hanyagi School of Dancing of Japan.[5]
Performance
Her group, later renamed PWU Philippine Delegation of Dancers and Musicians, traveled to Dhaka, East Pakistan and to participate in the International Festival of Dance and Music from December 25, 1954, to January 7, 1955. The host in Pakistan could produce only a guitar as an accompaniment.
Reyes extended the group's repertoire and drew on native dances as a source. She compiled various Lanao and Cotabato dances, such as the dance of the slave, the dance of the warrior, and the dance of the Muslim princess called "Singkil". Her creative choreography enriched the program of her Bayanihan Dance Company as it performed at the Brussels World Exposition in 1958 and at Winter Garden in New York. Reyes earned accolades as she gave "form, substance and exciting color to what could have been simple ethnic dances," which she translated to a theatrical art. Among the widely acclaimed dances she had staged were Singkil, a Bayanihan signature number based on a Maranao epic poem; Vinta, a dance honoring Filipino sailing prowess; Tagabili, a tale of tribal conflict; Pagdiwata, a four-day harvest festival condensed into a six-minute spectacle; Salidsid, a mountain wedding dance; and Idaw, Banga and Aires de Verbena.[5][6]
Bayanihan's repertoire, which had aroused the interest and admiration of both artists and art lovers, would typically ".. start with a war dance of the Mountain tribes, followed by a festival and rites in marriage, then changed in tempo with a presentation of the regal dances of Castilian colonization, later to pick up in a different setting as it portrayed Muslim dances and various regional dances of different colors and texture. All these depict the happy mixture of influences coming from Malaya, India, China, and Persia. The choreography ended with a portrayal in dance numbers of the rural life in a barrio, planting rice, harvesting, fishing and constructing a house.."[5]
The group toured America, Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa.[7]
Books
- Philippine National Dances (1946)
- Gymnastics for Girls (1947)
- Fundamental Dance Steps and Music (1948)
- Foreign Folk Dances (1949)
- Dances for all Occasion (1950)
- Playground Demonstration (1951)
- Philippine Folk Dances, Volumes I to VI.
International conferences and workshops
- Dance workshops in Sarawak and Malaysia (1986)
- UNESCO Workshop on the Preservation of Traditional Performing Arts in Modern Environment (Indonesia, 1982)
- Third Festival of Asian Arts (Hong Kong 1979)
- Workshop on Philippine Dance (Hawaii 1975)
Awards
- ASEAN Tourism Association for the Best ASEAN Cultural Effort, Pattayas, Thailand (1990)
- Tandang Sora Award for the Arts (1982)
- Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan Award from the City of Man ila (1973)
- International Women's Award in UNAP's Women of Distinction (1963)
- Republic Cultural Heritage Award for Research in Folk Dance (1963)
- Conferred a title, "Bai Kiokmay" (means, most active princess in the Arts)) in a ritual performed by the Mandaya tribe of Davao, attended by the tribes of Agusan participated in by 16 datus. (1963)
References
- ^ Inquirer, Philippine Daily. "Did You Know: Lucrecia Reyes-Urtula". newsinfo.inquirer.net. Retrieved 2019-07-26.
- ^ "Who is Lucrecia Reyes - Urtula in the Philippines". Answers.com. Retrieved 2019-07-26.
- ^ [ncca.gov.ph/.../lucrecia-reyes-urtula] [dead link]
- ^ Lucrecia Reyes-Urtula, p.337-345. The National Artists of the Philippines. Cultural Center of the Philippines and National Commission for Culture and the Arts. Anvil Publishing. 2004. ISBN 971-27-0783-0
- ^ a b c d e The National Artists of the Philippines. Cultural Center of the Philippines. 1998. pp. 337–345. ISBN 9789712707834.
- ^ [1] gwhs-stg02.i.gov.ph. Retrieved 2019-03-22 Archived 2019-03-22 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "National Artist of the Philippines - Lucresia Reyes-Urtula". Retrieved 2019-07-26.
- v
- t
- e
- 1973 Juan Nakpil
- 1976 Pablo Antonio
- 1990 Leandro Locsin
- 2006 Ildefonso P. Santos Jr.
- 2014 José María Zaragoza
- 2018 Francisco Mañosa
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bc/National_Artist_of_the_Philippines.svg/80px-National_Artist_of_the_Philippines.svg.png)
- 1973 Francisca R. Aquino
- 1976 Leonor Orosa
- 1988 Lucrecia Reyes
- 2006 Ramon Obusan
- 2014 Alice Reyes
- 2022 Agnes Locsin
- 2006 Ramón Valera
- 2022 Salvacion Lim Higgins
- 1976 Lamberto V. Avellana
- 1982 Gerardo de León
- 1997 Lino Brocka
- 2001 Ishmael Bernal
- 2003 Eddie Romero
- 2006 Fernando Poe Jr.
- 2009 Manuel Conde
- 2018 Kidlat Tahimik
- 2022 Nora Aunor
- 2022 Marilou Diaz-Abaya
- 2022 Ricardo Lee
- 1997 Carlos Quirino
- 1973 Amado V. Hernandez
- 1973 José Garcia Villa
- 1976 Nick Joaquin
- 1982 Carlos P. Romulo
- 1990 Francisco Arcellana
- 1997 N. V. M. Gonzalez
- 1999 Edith Tiempo
- 2001 F. Sionil José
- 2003 Virgilio S. Almario
- 2003 Alejandro Roces
- 2006 Bienvenido Lumbera
- 2009 Lazaro Francisco
- 2014 Cirilo F. Bautista
- 2018 Ramon Muzones
- 2018 Resil B. Mojares
- 2022 Gémino Abad
- 1973 Antonio Molina
- 1976 Jovita Fuentes
- 1988 Antonino Buenaventura
- 1988 Lucrecia Kasilag
- 1991 Lucio San Pedro
- 1997 Levi Celerio
- 1997 Felipe Padilla de León
- 1997 José Maceda
- 1999 Ernani Joson Cuenco
- 1999 Andrea Veneracion
- 2014 Ramon Santos
- 2014 Francisco Feliciano
- 2018 Ryan Cayabyab
- 2022 Fides Cuyugan-Asensio
- 1987 Atang de la Rama
- 1997 Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero
- 1997 Rolando Tinio
- 1999 Daisy Avellana
- 2001 Severino Montano
- 2003 Salvador Bernal
- 2018 Amelia Lapeña-Bonifacio
- 2022 Tony Mabesa
- 1972 Fernando Amorsolo
- 1973 Botong Francisco
- 1973 Guillermo Tolentino
- 1976 Napoleon Abueva
- 1976 Victorio Edades
- 1981 Vicente Manansala
- 1990 Cesar Legaspi
- 1991 Hernando R. Ocampo
- 1997 Arturo R. Luz
- 1999 J. Navarro Elizalde
- 2001 Ang Kiukok
- 2003 José T. Joya
- 2006 Benedicto Cabrera
- 2006 Abdulmari Imao
- 2009 Federico Aguilar Alcuaz
- 2014 Francisco Coching
- 2018 Larry Alcala
- National Commission for Culture and the Arts
- Cultural Center of the Philippines