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Peterson students learn traditional Philippine folk dance

Peterson students learn traditional Philippine folk dance
students at Peterson dancing the traditional Philippine folk dance: the tinikling

A cultural dance has inspired students to jump to new learning opportunities.

As part of Peterson Elementary’s jump-roping unit, the school introduced a dance called “tinikling” to the third-, fourth- and fifth-grade students. Tinikling is a traditional Philippine folk dance that involves two parts: clickers and jumpers. Clickers move the sticks to a beat and are in sync with the other clickers. Jumpers dance through the sticks in various patterns.

Peterson’s fifth-grade students took on the challenge to learn a routine to perform for parents at Open House night, consistently practicing in their PE class.

students at Peterson dancing the traditional Philippine folk dance: the tinikling

“It was very challenging as we worked with syncing the beat and jumping cleanly through the sticks,” said PE teacher Kaitlan Thomas. “They persevered and performed a beautiful performance.”

At Open House night, two dances were performed. One was a modern performance to the song, Cotton Eye Joe, and the other was a to Filipino song called, Tinikling, by Juan Silos. 

 
“We are so proud of our 5th graders for preserving and learning a dance that paid homage to the Filipino culture,” said Ms. Thomas.
 
Additional pictures can be found on NISD’s Flickr account.