PANDANGGUHAN

The Fandango is a courtship dance native to Spain and Mexico and supposedly means "go and dance." It is considered to be the prototype of all Spanish dances. The guitar figures prominently in the performance of the fandango as it furnishes the orchestra while dancing, both male and female alternately playing the same air and keeping time to its measure. Centuries of living under Spanish rule have allowed the Filipinos to develop their own variant of this rousing dance.

This guitar setting of the popular Filipino pandangguhan is notable for its fresh contemporary treatment that, while retaining the traditional sections of the dance, injects exciting layers of melodic ramification, rhythmic invention, and harmonic color.