Remembering 'Captivating Cory'

MANILA, Philippines - I was a freshman and a boarder at the College of Mount Saint Vincent in New York, circa 1957, when I was requested (“commanded”) by the nuns to do the “bird dance” that “Corazon and Teresita Cojuangco of Tarlac” danced for them a few years back. Initially, I thought it was the “Itik-itik” and started to move my arms, but they said the dance used bamboos.

I told the nuns — Sr. Patricia, Sr. Alethea, and Sr. Edith that I did not know the steps to the “Tinikling”. Sr. Patricia’s charming response was: “Oh, Estrella, fake it”! Thinking that they would not have the bamboos, I asked if they would have me use long wooden poles in place of the bamboos. They said that, of course, they had bamboos (where, oh where could they get those?)! My last argument about not performing the “Tinikling” was that I did not have the appropriate outfit for it. Triumphantly, Sr. Patricia replied that she had written/made an overseas call to my mother and that the costume would be sent posthaste. To make her ‘command’ more palatable, she said that my roommates (who were to be the bamboo clappers) and I would be excused from classes if ever we needed extra time to rehearse. Since I could not come up with any more arguments, I resigned myself to do as I was ‘commanded’.

To my disbelief, the nuns produced the bamboos (carried by the maintenance crew). I taught the girls the beat to follow when they clicked the bamboos together, and we would practice every chance we had. It was not unusual for the other boarders to do the steps themselves as they thought it was exciting to learn the “bird dance” (“Tinikling”) from the Philippines.

In retrospect, the “command” to dance for the school must have come when, unknown to me, the nuns had watched me enjoy the “jam sessions” after dinner. It was usual in the evening for us boarders to be exposed to “finishing school” activities: we were taught how to get in and out of a ‘mock’ car, how to choose/use the different silverware laid out for fine dining, how to move gracefully in dancing, etc. Since the nuns had judged that I would most likely be able to improvise the dance steps for the “bird dance”, they informed me that I was to dance it in the auditorium for some program for the parents. The script was about someone reminiscing about school activities and I was “one” of those memories (actually, a memory of Cory and her sister Terry dancing the “Tinikling”).

When performance day came, the auditorium was full (SRO). I could feel the joy of the nuns who looked so thrilled to see the dance that Cory and Terry Cojuangco captivated them with. The audience seemed to enjoy it too. I thought this would be the end of the nuns’ charming request, but to my consternation, it was not.

When Christmas came around, the usual dinner for the boarders required that we don long gowns so we would carry ourselves appropriately in a formal setting. Everything went fine till after dinner, when I saw the nuns walk in with the maintenance crew carrying the bamboos!!!! Lo and behold, Sr. Patricia came to me and whispered if I could, once again, do the “Tinikling”. The memory of Cory and Terry dancing the “Tinikling” must have been so captivating, that they could not seem to get enough of it!!!

Of course, I found an excuse: “But Sister, I’m in a long gown, I might trip!” Sr. Patricia graciously came nearer and lifted the skirt of my long gown up to below my knees and said: “Here, you hold it like this, so you don’t trip!” Aghast at what seemed like a nun obsessed with a Filipino dance, I could only smile and say: “Ok, Sister.”

When they put on the music, my roommates, the bamboo clappers, went into position and the whole dining hall of boarders started clapping to the beat of the “Tinikling”. The applause was so heartwarming, that I invited all those who wanted to try (in their long gowns and all), to go ahead and dance in and out of the bamboos. Would you believe, the adventurous ones pulled up their long gowns to their knees and tried stepping in and out of the bamboos! Then I asked Sr. Patricia and the other nuns to try too! What a marvelous time everybody had, just because once upon a time, 2 sisters from Tarlac, Cory and Terry Cojuangco danced the “Tinikling” so captivatingly.

Hence, a caveat: Any incoming Filipina student (“who doesn’t have ‘two left feet’”) who plans to study in Mt. St. Vincent, New York, is now properly warned that she would be “commanded” to dance the “Tinikling”, in memory of our beloved Cory Cojuangco-Aquino, the unforgettable dancer.

(Dr. Estrella “Teah” T. Tiongson-Magno went on to finish her AB in Maryknoll-Diliman, her MA in Guidance and Counseling and PhD in Clinical Psychology at the Ateneo de Manila University.)