Tinikling Dancers Teach Girl Scout Campers
By Dr. Sandra Montano-Yamat

On June 22nd, 2007, the Tinikling youth dancers were invited to teach the Tinikling Dance to + Waukesha Girl Scouts of all ages at the Chinook Day Camp. Nine youth dancers, along with a few adult volunteers came to help out with this activity.

The dance sessions were held outdoors at the campsite. There were a total of eight sessions consisting of 30 or more participants in each group, with ages ranging from as young as 3 years to 12 years old. The dance sessions started from 9:30a.m. till 3:30p.m. and lasted about 30 to 45 minutes each. Each session began with a brief introduction about the Tinikling Then the campers were taught the rhythm by clapping with their hands and eventually clapping with the bamboo poles. Finally, they learned the actual basic steps of the dance, first without the bamboos, then later with the bamboo sticks.

The highlight of the activity was the performance of all the dancers for the entire camp during the closing ceremony. The dancers were: Rea Azcueta, John Ballesteros, NJ Baylon, Mikee Baylon, Karen Baylon, Jason Guzman, Jerome Guzman, Regine Torres, and Vanessa Yamat. Dr. Mike Uy, a parent volunteer at camp and a long time member of the Filipino Dance Troupe, also joined the youth dancers. The performance was a great hit with the campers and our youth got a nice tan and a lot of goodwill as ambassadors of our Filipino culture.