Music of the Philippines more mainstream after performers such as Atang de la Rama, Jovita Fuentes, Conching Rosal, Sylvia La Torre and Ruben Tagalog introduced them to a wider audience. The Tinikling is a dance from Leyte which involves two individual performers hitting bamboo poles, using them to beat, tap, and slide on the ground, in co-ordination with one or more dancers who steps over and in between poles. This is one of the more iconic Philippine dances, and is similar to other Southeast Asian bamboo dances. The Cariñosa (meaning "loving" or "affectionate one"), is the national dance, and is part of the María
The School of Dance career college and a seminary of learning. The Contemporary Dance Programme is approved as a vocational program under the Private Career Colleges Act, 2005. Hodgins directs The School of Dance with an operating budget of over $1 million and a growing staff of 3 full-time and 87 contract teachers, musicians, choreographers and artists. From the mid-1980s to 1999, The School of Dance rented a three-studio facility on Catherine Street. In 1996, The School of Dance added professional modern dance training and teacher training. In 1998, The School of Dance began its co-operative relationship with the National Arts Centre, producing choreography