The Georgia Institute of Technology’s Filipino Student Association (FSA) has recently begun garnering attention online, and it’s all thanks to the club’s modernized version of a folk dance.
The FSA performed a version of the Tinikling, the national dance of the Philippines, and incorporated a Lil Nas X track.
Ang G A L I N G !
— FuturePedia MD 🇵🇹🇵🇭🇰🇷 (@hiram_ryu) April 26, 2022
As part of their Halo-Halo Mixer Event, students from Georgia Tech in Atlanta danced the Tinikling, our county’s National Dance. 😍
ctto pic.twitter.com/lLRhbCRn0X
The video was initially uploaded to social media earlier this month, and it showed the Georgia Tech FSA performing the tinikling as part of a cultural celebration.
In the upload, numerous FSA-affiliated students perform the complex routine in front of a live audience, who were blown away by the dance.
“A modern version of Tinikling by the Georgia Tech Filipino Student Association,” the club wrote on its Instagram page.
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While the soundtrack — “Dolla Sign Slime” by Lil Nas X — was definitely modernized, the students were sure to still adhere the original tinikling routine.
For context, this centuries-old performance involves dancers artfully moving their feet between bamboo sticks, which are rhythmically knocked together and tapped on the ground by others. It takes a tremendous amount of coordination and skill to not get your ankles struck by the bamboo poles, making the students‘ flawless routine even more awe-inspiring.
The performance was choreographed by a student named Ethan Ray, and FSA co-VP Erin Floresca explained that the dance was performed at the club’s “Halo-Halo Mixer.”
“We served Filipino food (including Halo Halo) and performed traditional Filipino dances (tinikling, cariñosa, pandanggo sa ilaw) as well as modern dances that included a modernized version of tinikling,” Floresca said. “Through this event, we wanted to exhibit Filipino Culture to our university, which we felt lacked significant Filipino representation.”
Despite the students’ Gen Z tinikling bringing a good amount of attention for the FSA — as well as Georgia Tech itself — the university hasn’t re-shared or commented on the video on Twitter or Instagram.
However, Lil Nas X notably retweeted the video, and he also praised the students’ amazing performance.
this is so hard omg https://t.co/AtBe0uSDVQ
— MONTERO (@LilNasX) April 26, 2022
Shoutout to the Georgia Tech Filipino Student Association for adding their own Gen Z flair to the national dance of the Philippines!
