Fely Franquelli was a Filipino

Filipino people

The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....

 dancer, choreographer, and actress. Franquelli became known in the international dance scene in the 1930s.

Early life and career

Franquelli, who was of Filipino, Spanish

Spanish people

The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....

, and Italian, was born in Manila

Manila

Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...

. She attended school in the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

 and Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 before immigrating to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 where she attended the University of Southern California

University of Southern California

The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...

.

According to Salvador P. Lopez

Salvador P. López

Salvador Ponce Lopez, born in Currimao, Ilocos Norte, was an Ilokano writer, journalist, educator, diplomat, and statesman....

, she was a dancer who exuded the poise of a polished professional with the smoothness, the grace and the skill that come with confidence in oneself and with certitude of knowledge. She had a brief film career and her most known role was in Back to Bataan

Back to Bataan

Back to Bataan is a World War II war film produced by Robert Fellows, directed by Edward Dmytryk and starring John Wayne and Anthony Quinn. It was produced by RKO Radio Pictures. It depicts events that took place after the Battle of Bataan on the island of Luzon in the Philippines...

as Dalisay Delgado, the former fiance of Captain Andrés Bonifácio, who is apparently collaborating with the Japanese, broadcasting propaganda over the radio. (In actuality, Delgado was also using the propaganda broadcasts as a means to relay sensitive information to the Filipino resistance without incurring Japanese suspicions).

Choreography

Listed below are some dances that Franquelli created:

• Hindu Temple Dance
• White Eagle (Navajo)
• Chinese Legend (about the goddess of beauty Ming Toy from Hainan)
• Tabu (African)
• Sacro Monte (a paso doble)
• Bulerias
  Bulerias
  Bulería is a fast flamenco rhythm in 12 beats with emphasis in two general forms as follows:1 2 [3] 4 5 [6] 7 [8] 9 [10] 11 [12]or...
  
   (a flamenco from Malaga)
• Gypsy Fortune Teller (a zambra in Granada)
• Jarabe
  Jarabe
  The jarabe is one of the most traditional song forms of the mariachi genre. In the Spanish language, jarabe literally means syrup, which probably refers to the mixture of meters within one jarabe ....
  
   (Mexican)
• Le Singe Qui Danse (a monkey dance)
• The Beast
• Planting Rice
• Tinikling
  Tinikling
  The tinikling is one of the most popular and well-known of traditional Philippine dances. The tinikling is a pre-Spanish dance from the Philippines that involves two people beating, tapping, and sliding bamboo poles on the ground and against each other in coordination with one or more dancers who...
  
  

Filmography

• Back to Bataan
  Back to Bataan
  Back to Bataan is a World War II war film produced by Robert Fellows, directed by Edward Dmytryk and starring John Wayne and Anthony Quinn. It was produced by RKO Radio Pictures. It depicts events that took place after the Battle of Bataan on the island of Luzon in the Philippines...
  
  (1945) as Dalisay Delgado
• Cry 'Havoc'
  Cry 'Havoc'
  This article is about the 1943 motion picture. For the board game see Cry Havoc.Cry 'Havoc' is a 1943 American drama film, produced by MGM and directed by Richard Thorpe...
  
  (1943) as Luisita Esperito
• The Fallen Sparrow
  The Fallen Sparrow
  The Fallen Sparrow is a 1943 spy film starring John Garfield, Maureen O'Hara, and Walter Slezak. It was based on the novel of the same name by Dorothy B. Hughes. An American returns home to find out who murdered his friend.-Plot:...
  
  (1943) (uncredited) as Gypsy Dancer
• The Leopard Man
  The Leopard Man
  The Leopard Man is a horror movie directed by Jacques Tourneur based on the book Black Alibi by Cornell Woolrich. It is one of the first American films to attempt an even remotely realistic portrayal of a serial killer .-Plot summary:The story, set in New Mexico, begins as Jerry Manning hires a...
  
  (1943) (uncredited) as Rosita

Reference

• Villaruz, B.E.S. "Altar". In CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art, 1st ed., Vol. 5, 208. Philippines: CCP Publications Office, 1994.

External links