About Us

UP Filipiniana Dance Group

The UP Filipiniana Dance Group is one of the most acclaimed cultural performing groups in the country, showcasing the rich Philippine heritage both in local and international spheres. Based in the University of the Philippines Diliman, the group performs a rich variety of Philippine dances including the Uyaoy form the Ifugao Tribe, the Ati-atihan from the Aetas, Dugso and Pagapir from Mindanao, to list a few. National Artist Mrs. Francisca Reyes-Aquino, the Mother of Cultural Dancing herself, is the founder of the prestigious dance group with its humble beginnings committed to a strong foundation of keeping traditional dances alive and appreciated by a wider audience.

Throughout the years, the UP Filipiniana Dance Group has effectively harnessed both the esteemed elegance of folk dancing and the strength and malleability of jazz in the present time. With the groups’s current director, Mr. Peter Alcedo, Jr., the Filipiniana dancers go through rigorous training of folk, jazz, supplementary dance and aerobic forms for optimum performance whether in individual strokes and group displays.

As ambassadors of Philippine art and culture, the UP Filipiniana Dance Group remains true to its vision of greater appreciation of Philippine dances to local and international audiences. The group has had the distinction of proudly representing the country in Gruppo Foclorristico Citta di Erba Euro-Fold Festival in Italy, as well as performing in other countries like France, United Kingdom and Switzerland in their European tour in 1997. Over the past decade, UP Filipiniana Dance Group has also performed in various Asian countries such as in the Midosuji Parade in Osaka, Japan in 2007, and the Surin International Folklore Festival form 2006 to 2010, showcasing dances along with 15 other countries around the world.

Despite the groups’s success in showcasing the Filipino culture in the international arena, UP Filipiniana Dance Group never fails to share the beauty of the country’s culture among fellow Filipinos. In addition to the regular performances in university events, the group has participated and received numerous accolades in national events such as Dancelebration and ProDanz. The group also engages in other distinct avenues to reach out to a more extensive number of audiences by dancing in provinces like Cavite, Lauguna, Ilocos Norte, Cebu and in Mindanao. In November 2009, the group had the privilege of performing their 2009 UP Centennial concert tribute, Isang Daan, which was originally performed earlier in the year at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, in Misamis Oriental General Comprehensive High School, Cagayan de Oro, bringing a cross-regional celebration of music and dance by celebrated National Artists from the University. Furthermore, the group currently conducts folk and jazz workshops for the aspiring young dancers of Baler, Quezon, truly proving that love for the Philippine culture spans borders.

The journey of UP Filipiniana Dance Group is one that does not end only when the dance had been beautifully staged, or when the curtains finally close. The group transcends mere dancing experience, and yearns to find genuine connection with the people, the experiences and the knowledge gained in the didactic appreciation of such a rich national heritage.

Today, UP Filipiniana Dance Group opens the curtains to a deeper vision of its driving purpose by reaching out to the Filipino and global audience to come and experience the beauty of the arts in dance and music beyond the confines of the opening and closing of the show’s curtains— the true performance beyond the stage.