Fely Franquelli (November 11, 1916 – January 8, 2002) was a Filipino dancer,

choreographer Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...

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

Early life and career

Franquelli, who was of Filipino, Spanish and Italian descent, was born in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

. She attended school in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

and Hong Kong before immigrating to the United States where she attended the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

. The widow of a former Army surgeon, Fely was, upon her death at age 85, buried at Arlington National Cemetery beside her husband. According to Salvador P. Lopez, 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'' is a 1945 American black-and-white World War II war film drama from RKO Radio Pictures, produced by Robert Fellows, directed by Edward Dmytryk, that stars John Wayne and Anthony Quinn. The film depicts events (some fictionalize ...

'' as Dalisay Delgado, the former fiancée 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) *

Bulerías ''Bulería'' (; interchangeable with the plural, ''bulerías'') is a fast flamenco rhythm made up of a 12 beat cycle with emphasis in two general forms as follows: This may be thought of as a measure of followed by a measure of (known ...

(a flamenco from Malaga) * Gypsy Fortune Teller (a zambra in Granada) * Jarabe (Mexican) * Le Singe Qui Danse (a monkey dance) * The Beast * Planting Rice *

Tinikling Tinikling (traditionally written tiniclín) is a traditional Philippine folk dance which originated prior to Spanish colonialism in the area. The dance involves at least two people beating, tapping, and sliding bamboo poles on the ground and a ...

Filmography

* ''

'' (1945) as Dalisay Delgado * '' Cry 'Havoc''' (1943) as Luisita Esperito * '' The Fallen Sparrow'' (1943) (uncredited) as Gypsy Dancer * '' The Leopard Man'' (1943) (uncredited) as Rosita

References

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

Notes

External links

* Filipino film actresses Filipino choreographers Filipino female dancers Filipino emigrants to the United States Actresses from Manila University of Southern California alumni 1916 births 2002 deaths {{dance-bio-stub