Singkil is an ethnic dance of the Philippines that has its origins in the Maranao people of Lake Lanao, a Mindanao Muslim ethnolinguistic group.

Singkil has evolved over time, with significant reinterpretations and changes introduced by the Bayanihan folk dance group, such as the incorporation of the elements from the Darangen epic, particularly the episodes involving Prince Bantugan and Princess Gandingan.

Sani (1979) suggests that the dance originated in the Basak area, located on the eastern shores of Lake Lanao, which then spread to other villages in the 1930s.

On the other hand, de los Santos (1979) claims that the dance was brought to Lanao, specifically to Rumayas, Lumba-Bayabao (formerly known as Maguing), by an individual from Cotabato, Maguindanao.

Similarly, Steven Fernandez, the founder and artistic director of the Integrated Performing Arts Guild (IPAG), speculates that the Singkil dance may have originally been a dance-game played by Maranao children.

Encouraged by her teacher, Francisca Reyes Aquino, Hofer-Ele conducted her study on a unique bamboo dance that she had witnessed in Marawi during a regional inter-school athletic event.

Bayanihan made adjustments to the dance, including designating the principal dancer as a "princess" accompanied by an attendant holding a royal umbrella.

Creative directors of the group reimagined the dance in the early 1950s to enhance the cast and characters for their world tour at the Brussels Expo in 1958.

Their version of Singkil features multiple fan dancers, a prince, warriors with swords and shields, crisscrossed bamboo poles, and an umbrella attendant.

The performance incorporates theatrical vignettes portraying a segment of the Darangen epic, where Prince Bantungan rescues Princess Gandingan during an earthquake caused by forest spirits.

[2][3] The Bayanihan interpretation of Singkil involves the female lead dancer portraying Princess Gandingan of the Darangen epic, wearing ankle rings to keep time while dancing.

Princess Gandingan makes a graceful entrance, manipulating two elaborately designed fans called apir, accompanied by the clapping of the bamboo poles.

Afterward, a male dancer portraying the legendary Prince Bantugan performs a dance round and through the bamboo poles, wielding a shield and a sword.

Their research failed to acknowledge that the Maguindanao, a neighboring Muslim ethnolinguistic group, also had a variation of Singkil, which involved both a princess and a prince attempting to court her.