KontraGaPi@19: Mimetic Dance - Pugo

Philippine folk dance is known to be mimetic in nature. The practice of mimesis involves the mirroring, or miming, of actions from animals and plants. On this year's Kindness to Animals Day, watch this excerpt from Indak Pilipinas--a rendition of Itik-Itik as performed by the Bayanihan Philippine National Folk Dance Company. Discovered by National Artist for Dance Francisca Reyes-Aquino, the dance imitates the movements of small ducks and was popular in Cantilan, Surigao del Sur. Find out more a

For centuries, the hālau hula (traditional hula school) has been one of several spaces in Hawaiian society where traditional knowledge is transferred from one generation to the next. 🌱 Hālau I Ka Leo Ola O Nā Mamo (Hula School of the Living Language of the Descendants) came to Washington, D.C. this summer for the 2025 Smithsonian Folklife Festival to highlight the strength of Ke Aukahi Hoʻōla ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, the Hawaiian Language Revitalization Movement. At the Festival, which celebrated “Youth