KURATSA: Philippine Folk dance
(Version on the video is the popular Kuratsa Binisaya from Tacloban Leyte' found on the book Philippine Folk Dances V.1 by Francisa Reyes-Aquino but the music used is the Kuratsa Bago (from Bago City, Negros Occidental, notation foun in the "Visayan Folk Dances V1" by Libertad Fajardo) The Kuratsa is highly favored by the Visayan people especially the Waray people of the Eastern Visayan region in the Philippines. Strictly speaking, only one couple dance it at a time. Believed to be a Mexican import (supposedly from La Cucaracha dance typical to Monterrey region of Mexico)- the Kuratsa is however, very different in the manner of execution than the Mexican counterpart. Even the "basic" Kuratsa music is not based on Mexican or even Spanish melodies. Philippine dance researchers, however, point either to the "Kigal" and the "Bikal" as the 'ascendant' of the Kuratsa. The Kigal (spelled "Quigal" in early Spanish writings...