Front and Centier

MANILA, Philippines - Dancing isn’t just about having the moves. Pulling off a jaw-dropping show requires the whole package: from the looks to the ability to effortlessly project, and perhaps even a little bit of acting.

Mica Javier and Tricia Centenera, the girls who make up the dance duo, Centier, have just that. They’ve trained and performed all over Asia, Australia, and the US and have pulled off pretty much everything, from ballet to jazz, hip-hop, contemporary, acrobatics, tap dancing, and even cabaret. From training at the Broadway Dance Center in New York and dancing in the Matrix II and III movies, these two are no strangers to putting on an electrifying performance.

Supreme sat down with the girls to find out more about their team.

How’d you two meet?

Tricia Centenera (T): Pia and Chere, who are my managers from W, have always encouraged me to go back to dancing considering my training, and they had tried to pair me up with other girls unsuccessfully in the past. So when Pia had her meeting with Mica after she moved back from NYC, she realized we had similar dance training it all seemed to just fall into place quite easily. Mica and I became a natural duo. We have the same outlook and the same sense of style, which always freaks us out when we come to rehearsals usually in similar attire. I adore her!

 Dancers usually come in large groups. Why a duo?

Mica Javier (M): We didn’t want to be like every other dance group in large numbers. There isn’t a dance duo right now that looks like we do and does the things we do individually. 

What kind of dancers are you individually?

T: Let me just get it out now. I am not that girl who breaks out the cool moves on the dance floor but Mica is! She is that hot girl doing her thang on the dance floor, and I get really shy! As my best friend always tells to me, “T, for a professional dancer you don’t dance when we’re out.” Mica is much more of a funk/hip hop dancer and I am a technical jazz cabaret dancer who majored in contemporary dance at college but we find a balance in our contemporary training because Mica is a technical contemporary dancer, too. But I am much more of a girlie dancer then Mica!

What does each of you bring to the tandem?

M: I bring funk and Trish brings girly technique, and we both bring our own swag and sexy to the tandem.

T: It’s like we are each other’s yin and yang. Where Mica is strong in dancing (i.e. funky moves), I suck at, and where Mica lacks I am strong at so we completely balance each other out! But I also must give all the credit to our choreographer Yek, who has figured out our weaknesses and strengths and really exploits them and choreographs routines that really compliment us.

What’s it like getting to dance around the world?

M: Awesome. We’re living the dream.

T: Turning professional on an international level at the age of 17 years old, I was accepted into an international dancing production company and moved to Japan to tour in their Australian cabaret shows. When I returned to Australia, I would perform in local cabaret shows for television and film but I toured Singapore and Malaysia, as well. I really lived, ate, and breathed dancing for five years, seven days a week, literally standing in front of the mirror in a dance studio working on routines. The experience made me grow up really quick. My discipline from dance was what pushed me to walk again after I lost the movement of my legs from an accident, and dance has shown me parts of the world and parts of myself that I would never have seen or known was there. Dance has shown me I am stronger than I thought and that anything is possible. 

Of all the genres you’re trained in, what’s your favorite and why?

T: My favorite is jazz cabaret and lyrical jazz of course! It’s so girlie and fun. Sexy but never slutty. 

M: Jazz funk because it’s not too hard.

What else are you into, aside from dancing?

M: Modeling, singing, business. Anything creative to make my life more interesting.

T: Growing up in Australia on the beach, I spent a lot I time in the sun tanning and swimming. So if I’m not in the dance studio you can always find me by the pool tanning with my girlfriends.

What can the Filipino audience expect from Centier?

T: Girlie glam routines, glitzy Puey Quinones costumes, a lot of fun character work and all that jazz!

M: Class, freshness, sexy, fun, and good times.

* * *

Tweet the author @catedeleon.