Lucrecia Reyes Urtula

Reyes extended the group's repertoire and drew on native dances as a source. She compiled various Lanao and Cotabato dances, such as the dance of the slave, the dance of the warrior, and the dance of the Muslim princess called "Singkil". Her creative choreography enriched the program of her Bayanihan Dance Company as it performed at the Brussels World Exposition in 1958 and at Winter Garden in New York. Reyes earned accolades as she gave "form, substance and exciting color to what could have been simple ethnic dances," which she translated to a theatrical art. Among the widely acclaimed dances she had staged were Singkil, a Bayanihan signature number based on a Maranao epic poem; Vinta, a dance honoring Filipino sailing prowess; Tagabili, a tale of tribal conflict; Pagdiwata, a four-day harvest festival condensed into a six-minute spectacle; Salidsid, a mountain wedding dance; and Idaw, Banga and Aires de Verbena.

Her group, later renamed PWU Philippine Delegation of Dancers and Musicians, traveled to Dhaka, East Pakistan and to participate in the International Festival of Dance and Music from December 25, 1954, to January 7, 1955. The host in Pakistan could produce only a guitar as an accompaniment.

Lucrecia Faustino Reyes-Urtula (June 29, 1929 – August 4, 1999) was a Filipino choreographer, theater director, teacher, author and researcher on ethnic dance. She was the founding director of the Bayanihan Philippine National Folk Dance Company and was named National Artist of the Philippines for dance in 1988.