Leonor Orosa Goquinco
Encyclopedia
Leonor Orosa-Goquingco was a Filipino national artist in creative dance. She could play the piano, draw, design scenery and costumes, sculpt, act, direct, dance and choreograph. Her pen name was Cristina Luna and she was known as Trailblazer, Mother of Philippine Theater Dance and Dean of Filipino Performing Arts Critics. She died on July 15 2005 of "cardiac arrest secondary to cerebro-vascular accident" at the age of 87.
. Her parents were Sixto Orosa and Severina Luna, both doctors who graduated from the University of the Philippines
. She was married to Benjamin Goquinco and had three children: Benjamin Jr., Rachelle and Regina.
and entered the Philippine Women's University
(PWU) where she took an ACS course. She earned a diploma in education, majoring in English Literature from St. Scholastica's College
and graduated summa cum laude. The famous national artist also took graduate courses in theatre craft, drama and music at Columbia University
and Teachers College
in New York City, USA. She also took professional and teacher courses at the Ballet de Monte Carlo.
, to life.
The Noli Dance Suite consisted of several dances. Maria Clara and the Leper, Salome and Elias, Sisa, Asalto for Maria Clara and The Gossips are some of the dances found in the Noli Dance Suite.
Leonor Orosa-Goquingco also danced during her early years. She danced at the American Museum of Natural History
, Theresa Kaufmann Auditorium, The International House and Rockefeller Plaza, just to name a few. She appeared in War Dance and Planting Rice. Other works she choreographed were Circling the Globe, Dance Panorama, Current events, Vinta!, Morolandia, Festival in Maguindanao, Eons Ago: The Creation, Filipinescas: Philippine Life, Legend, and Lore in Dance, Miner's Song, The Bird and the Planters, Tribal, "Ang Antipos" (The Flagellant), "Salubong," "Pabasa
" (Reading of the Pasyon) and Easter Sunday Fiesta.
She took the Filipinescas Dance Company on a world tour in 1961, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1968 and 1970.
She was also a writer, and her articles were published in Dance Magazine
(New York City), Enciclopedia Della Spettacolo (Rome), Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians (London), Arts of Asia (Hong Kong) and the Philippine Cultural Foundation. She wrote Dances of the Emerald Isles and Filipinescas: Philippine Life, Legend and Lore in Dance.
Leonor Orosa-Goquingco also wrote a poem on the Japanese occupation, Lifted the Smoke of Battle. She is famous for her one-act play, Her Son, Jose Rizal which is set during the time Rizal was imprisoned and awaiting his execution. It reveals the emotions going through Rizal's mother at that time and the similarities between Rizal's life and that of Jesus Christ.
Goquinco was also a critic who wrote reviews. She critiqued works like Tony Perez
' Oktubre, Ligaya Amilbangsa's Stillness and Tanghalang Pilipino
's Aguinaldo: 1898.
.
Family
Leonor Orosa-Goquingco was born on July 24, 1917 at Jolo, SuluJolo, Sulu
Jolo is a municipality on the island of Jolo, and the capital and largest town of the province of Sulu. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 87,998 people in 12,814 households. Part of its population is of Chinese descent, mainly from Singapore...
. Her parents were Sixto Orosa and Severina Luna, both doctors who graduated from the University of the Philippines
University of the Philippines
The ' is the national university of the Philippines. Founded in 1908 through Act No...
. She was married to Benjamin Goquinco and had three children: Benjamin Jr., Rachelle and Regina.
Education
Goquingco graduated at the top of her class as valedictorian in Negros Occidental Provincial High School. She moved to ManilaManila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
and entered the Philippine Women's University
Philippine Women's University
The Philippine Women's University is a non-sectarian academic institution for men and women in the Philippines, founded in 1919 as the Philippine Women's College by Filipino women who envisioned a school that would prepare young women for leadership and service...
(PWU) where she took an ACS course. She earned a diploma in education, majoring in English Literature from St. Scholastica's College
St. Scholastica's College
St. Scholastica's College, Manila is a Catholic institution for women established in 1906 and managed by the Missionary Benedictine Sisters of Tutzing. It is located in 3.66 hectare lot in Malate in the city of Manila. It is bounded by Estrada Street on the north, P...
and graduated summa cum laude. The famous national artist also took graduate courses in theatre craft, drama and music at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and Teachers College
Teachers College, Columbia University
Teachers College, Columbia University is a graduate school of education located in New York City, New York...
in New York City, USA. She also took professional and teacher courses at the Ballet de Monte Carlo.
Accomplishments
In 1939, Leonor Orosa-Goquingco was the only dancer sent on the first cultural mission to Japan, at the age of 19. She produced Circling the Globe (1939) and Dance Panorama in the same year. She created The Elements in 1940, the first ballet choreographed by a Filipino to commissioned music. She also created Sports during the same year, featuring cheerleaders, a tennis match and a basketball game. The first Philippine folkloric ballet, Trend: Return to the Native, was choreographed by Goquingco in 1941. After the Second World War, she organized the Philippine Ballet and brought the famous Filipino novel, Noli Me TangereNoli Me Tangere (novel)
Noli Me Tangere is a novel by Filipino polymath José Rizal and first published in 1887 in Berlin, Germany. Early English translations used titles like An Eagle Flight and The Social Cancer, but more recent translations have been published using the original Latin title.Though originally written in...
, to life.
The Noli Dance Suite consisted of several dances. Maria Clara and the Leper, Salome and Elias, Sisa, Asalto for Maria Clara and The Gossips are some of the dances found in the Noli Dance Suite.
Leonor Orosa-Goquingco also danced during her early years. She danced at the American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
, Theresa Kaufmann Auditorium, The International House and Rockefeller Plaza, just to name a few. She appeared in War Dance and Planting Rice. Other works she choreographed were Circling the Globe, Dance Panorama, Current events, Vinta!, Morolandia, Festival in Maguindanao, Eons Ago: The Creation, Filipinescas: Philippine Life, Legend, and Lore in Dance, Miner's Song, The Bird and the Planters, Tribal, "Ang Antipos" (The Flagellant), "Salubong," "Pabasa
Pabasa
The Ancient Egyptian noble Pabasa was Chief Steward to Nitocris I, Divine Adoratrice of Amun, during the Saite Period . He is buried in tomb TT279, which is located in the El-Assasif, part of the Theban Necropolis, near Thebes....
" (Reading of the Pasyon) and Easter Sunday Fiesta.
She took the Filipinescas Dance Company on a world tour in 1961, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1968 and 1970.
She was also a writer, and her articles were published in Dance Magazine
Dance Magazine
Dance Magazine is an "influential" American trade publication for dance, currently published by the Macfadden Communications Group. It was first published in June 1927 as The American Dancer. William Como was its editor-in-chief from 1970 to his death in 1989. Wendy Perron became its editor-in...
(New York City), Enciclopedia Della Spettacolo (Rome), Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians (London), Arts of Asia (Hong Kong) and the Philippine Cultural Foundation. She wrote Dances of the Emerald Isles and Filipinescas: Philippine Life, Legend and Lore in Dance.
Leonor Orosa-Goquingco also wrote a poem on the Japanese occupation, Lifted the Smoke of Battle. She is famous for her one-act play, Her Son, Jose Rizal which is set during the time Rizal was imprisoned and awaiting his execution. It reveals the emotions going through Rizal's mother at that time and the similarities between Rizal's life and that of Jesus Christ.
Goquinco was also a critic who wrote reviews. She critiqued works like Tony Perez
Tony Pérez
Atanasio Pérez Rigal , more commonly known as Tony Pérez, is a former Major League Baseball player. He was also known by the nickname "Big Dog," "Big Doggie," and "Doggie."...
' Oktubre, Ligaya Amilbangsa's Stillness and Tanghalang Pilipino
Tanghalang Pilipino
Tanghalang Pilipino is the leading exponent of Philippine theater and the resident drama company of the Cultural Center of the Philippines since its organization in 1987...
's Aguinaldo: 1898.
Awards
- Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan Award in 1961 and 1964
- Rizal Centennial Award in 1962
- Republic Cultural Heritage Award in 1964
- Presidential Award of Merit in 1970
- Tandang Sora Award and the Columbia University Alumni Association Award in 1975
- National Artist for Dance on March 27, 1976
Positions
She was an Honorary Chairman of the Association of Ballet Academies of the Philippines, the founding member of the Philippine Ballet Theater (PBT) and was known as a Zontian and a performing arts critic and columnist of the Manila BulletinManila Bulletin
The Manila Bulletin , is the Philippines' largest broadsheet newspaper by circulation, followed by the Philippine Daily Inquirer. It bills itself as "The Nation's Leading Newspaper", which is its official slogan...
.