A QUALITATIVE STUDY ON THE EVOLUTION OF DANCE ON PHILIPPINE TELEVISION

ABSTRACT

Infante, J.P. (2016). A Qualitative Study on the Evolution of Dance on Philippine Television. Unpublished Undergraduate Thesis, University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication.

This study looks into the evolution of dance as a cultural form on Philippine television, particularly variety shows, guided by the conceptual framework of Cultural Evolution Theory. The units of analysis were interview transcripts from key informant interviews of sixteen (16) individuals working in the dance industry: ten (10) dancers, four (4) production staff, and two (2) renowned dance experts. The study performed thematic analysis followed by comparative analysis to synthesize data gathered from the interviews. Themes were selected based on how they related to cultural evolution: from influences to manifestations of evolution. The findings supported the idea that changes in how dance was manifested on Philippine do take place and are driven by corresponding changes in music, popular trends, technology (particularly the advent of the Internet) and network influences (particularly the influence of big bosses). Certain changes in choreography were noted such as the shift to more complicated steps and faster rhythms due to music being faster as well. One consistent feature was celebrity-centeredness, or the tendency to put the celebrity in the foreground and dancers in the background; however, it was determined to be a possible starting point for future instances of evolution. Evolution of dance was not linear, but recurrent and interconnected. Keywords: evolution, culture, dance, Philippine Television

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