Competing against 13 other collegiate teams in the World of Dance Philippines 2024, the Saint Benilde Romançon Dance Company (SBRDC) captured the hearts of the audience as they were awarded Crowd Favorite on Mar. 10 at the University Theater of the University of the Philippines Diliman.
In the college division, SBRDC placed fourth with a score of 81.17. They are followed by the top three winners, Ateneo Dance Crew, scoring 90.33, MSU-IIT Orions, scoring 86.33, and Adamson University Dance Company - Street, scoring 81.67. The other two divisions are high school and junior divisions.
In an interview with The Benildean, Joshua “Josh” Caleb Vidamo, a Benilde alumnus and SBRDC coach, alongside Carlos Louis Herrera, an ID122 ABMMA student and SBRDC Choreographer, shared their thoughts along with other members, ID119 Patricia “Rei” Ryeanne Alaon, and ID123 King Joseph Alvaro, regarding their reactions upon receiving the Crowd Favorite Award.
“After knowing ‘yung number ng supporters namin during the ticket collection pa lang, sobrang nagulat na po ako like grabe andaming manunood sa mga supporters namin,” Herrera answered.
“For me, I felt like it was expected for some of us because we really felt the support from day one palang. And while performing, we felt not only the energy of our supporters but also the rest of the crowd,” Alaon added.
The vision behind the piece
When asked about the emotional process of preparing for the competition, Herrera recalled, "I recall throwing around ideas in the car with Coach Josh, and the theme we settled on was Biker Gang/Rock. Upon reflection, it was incredibly unique and the potential outcome seemed quite exciting. After that, it felt like everything began falling into place."
Vidamo mentioned that, as a choreographer and a coach, he can already envision how the audience would feel. “Nakakatuwa lang that when they performed it on stage, people were really responding well to all of our creations,” he emphasized.
“I think ‘yung pinaka favorite ko yung reaction nung audience nung nagchange ng pants ‘yung dancers. Classic. Parating nagwawala ang mga tao doon and how they responded with the transitions, with the flags. The whole theater was shouting at that point,” Vidamo added.
The group’s piece, inspired by Biker Gang/Rock, was remixed and choreographed by Vidamo. Throughout the routine, the dancers wielded flags, seamlessly transitioning between movements that included the iconic changing of pants, all while showcasing their distinctive red hair.
Drawing inspiration from the previous batches of SBRDC, Vidamo emphasized his deep connection with the students, stating, “I’m always thinking what routine or dance style they would love dancing and still has that Romançon flare. What this batch have something different from the other batches? I enjoyed making this piece. It’s their attitude, it’s their way of movement, it’s who they are, it’s their personality that makes this piece unique... The inspiration is them.”
Overcoming setbacks
When asked about the challenges they faced, the team members shared various obstacles they encountered during their preparation for the competition.
“One of the challenges we faced was lack of communication. Yung problem po sa batch namin since bago palang kami, walang willing na mag-take ng initiative to speak up and what happened po is we struggled sa chemistry po namin as a team. And yung effect po n’on is ‘yung problem po hindi siya naso-solve,” Alvaro shared.
Alaon also highlighted the difficulty of incorporating props into their choreography, emphasizing the necessity to seamlessly integrate them to enhance their performance, which they successfully achieved.
“Another challenge is sa mismong [competition] day, one of our teammates had a wardrobe malfunction. Not everyone can still perform all-out with that happening to them and the team came together after that.”
“Hindi na namin inisip ‘yung outcome. We just wanted to be there for our teammate. That was a challenge that brought us together and made us see beyond just the title,“ she added.
Alaon, on behalf of SBRDC, expressed her gratitude towards the Benilde Culture and Arts Unit (BCAU), the office that handles their group.
“I think the office and the school itself has been so supportive of the team. Ms. Ella Cosio, the Head of BCAU, and Sir Kenneth Mangurit, the Student Development Coordinator, and the other staffers from BCAU [who] showed their support, I just want to thank them because they don’t know how much their support motivated these young dancers to push through,” she shared.
