British Pathe

High angle M/S of a man in red silky trousers, gold waistcoat and flip-flops, sitting cross-legged on the ground playing the bongos. M/S of a small crowd of people in summer clothes watching at a holiday camp (looks like Butlin's as there are Redcoats about) in Margate, Kent, and clapping in time with...

High angle M/S of a man in red silky trousers, gold waistcoat and flip-flops, sitting cross-legged on the ground playing the bongos. M/S of a small crowd of people in summer clothes watching at a holiday camp (looks like Butlin's as there are Redcoats about) in Margate, Kent, and clapping in time with the drums as some people in Philippine costume enter the performance area.

The girl leading them, Wendy Edwards, has an elaborate hairdo and holds a fan in front of her face; four men following behind wear coolie-style hats and carry long bamboo poles. The girl takes down the fan and makes eastern-style movements with her head. They move around the open-air performance area in time to the music while the audience clap; commentator says "...the dance has been slightly Anglicised. In place of the Filipino name 'Tinikling', it's called 'chopsticks'".

The men place the poles on the ground making a grid and start to beat them on the ground in time, then quickly clap them together as the girl dances in the spaces between them. She then beckons for a spectator to come and take over; and a woman in a summer dress jumps between the poles. C/Us of the bongo man and the audience watching.

A man next takes over the dancing duties and leaps about looking quite comical, although he is more adventurous than the others, dancing in the middle square of the poles. Unfortunately, the poor man gets his ankle caught in the poles and topples over. Nice shot of a row of spectators looking on in sunglasses. As the dance draws to an end the men pick up their poles and the girl leads them off with more eastern-style head jerks. Story ends with a shot of a flag flying - seems to be Norwegian?!!

Note: Commentator says it's a holiday camp in Ayr, Scotland, but notes on file clearly say Margate in Kent - strange! On file is a programme from the Palace Theatre of a performance by the Philippine Dance Company - Bayanihan. which perhaps inspired this story. (For search purposes: Butlins.)

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