The National Artist — Dance

• E Dance Philippines
• "History of Philippine Sugar Industry," "Filipino Herlage! Nation," and "Filipinos at War: The Fight for Freedom from Mactan to EDSA."
• National Capital Region


  Alice Reyes (2014)
• Alice Reyes


  • Dancer, choreographer, teacher, and director from Manila
  • Made a lasting impact on the development and promotion of contemporary dance in the Philippines
  • Developed a distinctly Filipino modern dance idiom
  • Utilized inherently Filipino materials and expressed subject matters through a combination of movements and styles from Philippine indigenous dance, modern dance, and classical ballet
• Region 3-Central Luzon


  Francisca Reyes Aquino (1973)
• Francisca Reyes Aquino


  • Known as the "Mother of Philippine Folk Dancing"
  • Made research on unrecorded forms of local celebration, ritual, and sport
  • Served as supervisor of physical education at the Bureau of Education in the 1940s
  • Distributed her work and adapted the teaching of folk dancing to promote awareness of cultural heritage
  • Published books on Philippine National Dances, Gymnastics for Girls, Fundamental Dance Steps and Music, Foreign Folk Dances, Dances for all Occasion, Playground Demonstration, and Philippine Folk Dances
• Region 5 - Bicol Region


  Ramon Obusan (2006)
• Ramon Obusan


  • Dancer, choreographer, stage designer, artistic director, archivist, researcher, and documentary filmmaker from Legaspi, Albay
  • Focused on promoting Philippine traditional dance and cultural work
  • Choreographed full-length works like "Vamos a Belen! Series," "Noon Po sa Amin," "Obra Maestra," "Unpublished dances of the Philippines," "Water, Fire and Life, Philippine Dances and Music-A Celebration of Life," "Saludo sa Sentenyal," "Glimpses of ASEAN, Dances and Music of the ASEAN-Member Countries," and "Saplot (Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group): Philippines Costumes in Dance"
• Region 6 - Western Visayas


  Lucrecia Reyes-Urtula (1988)
• Lucrecia Reyes-Urtula


  • Spent almost four decades in the discovery and study of Philippine folk and ethnic dances
  • Became the dance director of Bayanihan Philippine Dance Company
  • Choreographed collections of mountain dances, Spanish-influenced dances, Muslim pageants and festivals, and regional variations and dances of the countryside
• Region 15-Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao


  Leonor Orosa-Goquingco (1976)
• Leonor Orosa-Goquingco


  • Dubbed "Trailblaizer," "Mother of Philippine Theater Dance" and "Dean of Filipino Performing Arts Critics"
  • Produced highly original choreographies like "TREND: Return to Native," "In a Javanese Garden," "Sports," "VINTA!," "In a Concentration Camp," "The Magic Garden," "The Clowns," "Firebird," "Noli Dance Suite," "The Flagellant," "The Creation..." and the dance epic "Filipinescas: Philippine Life, Legend and Lore"
  • Brought native folk dance, mirroring Philippine culture from pagan to modern times, to its highest stage of development