HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — If you’ve been to any event or celebration honoring Filipino culture and heritage, you may have seen a traditional dance performed called Tinikling.

Considered by many to be the national dance of the Philippines and the oldest in the country, Tinikling usually involves a pair of two bamboo poles.

Interview: FYP of Houston shares more with ABC13 about Tinikling and Filipino dance

The Tinikling is said to be named after a long-legged bird called the Tikling in the Philippines. Someone who dances the Tinikling imitates the movements of a Tikling bird as the bird walks over the grass or dodges bamboo traps set by Filipino farmers on vast rice fields.

Since it’s a dramatic dance, it’s usually performed on special occasions like traditional Filipino festivals or at school and theater performances.

Some say that this dance represents most Filipinos’ two main character traits: They’re resilient and fun-loving.

The dance’s appeal has also spread across the globe.

In the Bayou City alone, the Filipino Young Professionals of Houston have shared the tradition everywhere from the Rockets games to heritage nights at Constellation Field in Sugar Land.

FYP’s latest stop was ABC13, where the group shared the origins of the dance and performed during Eyewitness News at 8 a.m. on Friday in honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander, or AAPI, Month.

According to history.com, efforts to officially recognize the contributions of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders began in the United States in the late 1970s.

May would be annually designated Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month in 1992 under the George H.W. Bush administration.

It was renamed AAPI Heritage Month in 2009.

Pew Research Center also recently shared new data on America’s diverse Asian population.

The U.S. Asian population has more than doubled since 2000, growing from 11.9 million in 2000 to 24.8 million in 2023.

Chinese Americans are the largest Asian origin group in the U.S. At 5.5 million people, they make up 22% of the Asian population.

The next-largest origin groups include Indian and Filipino, with the latter making up 4.6 million or 19%.

FYP also broke some news with ABC13 on Friday. The Houston Filipino Street Festival returns Oct. 18, 2025, at Constellation Field in Sugar Land.

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