Sayaw Pilipinas' powerful performances

MANILA, Philippines - GMA 7’s Party Pilipinas takes pride in gathering together some of the country’s dance artists whose world-class performances leave a mark to the viewers in the segment Sayaw Pilipinas.

Led by Mark Herras together with Yassi Pressman, Diva Montelaba, Rocco Nacino, Enzo Pineda, Sef Cadayona, Mayton Eugenio and Winwyn Marquez, Sayaw Pilipinas is one of the most-awaited segments in Party Pilipinas.

From jazz, ballet, ballroom, modern dance, backflips, krumping, isolation to hip-hop and breakdancing, name it and Sayaw Pilipinas has it because its members are gifted and trained.

“Everybody is talented, gifted and a fast learner,” says Miggy Tanchangco, dance head of Party Pilipinas. From the first step down to the last choreography and blocking, Miggy said that all members of Sayaw Pilipinas are disciplined and dedicated. He added that the Sayaw Pilipinas team sees to it that they do not repeat any of their previous performances.

According to Mark and Yassi, Sayaw Pilipinas sprang from the previous segments Boys iLike and Girls I Want. When directors Mark Reyes and Rico Gutierrez came in to Party Pilipinas, all members of these two segments, including dance groups Maneouvres and the MaxMovement, were merged into one and created a segment that has its own identity.

But what makes Sayaw Pilipinas more special to these stars on and off screen is their camaraderie, not to mention their friendship and chemistry. The group members shared that they learned a lot from the segment.

From these young dance artists, Party Pilipinas has not just developed the segment but it nurtures the members as well. Winwyn, who studied ballet and jazz in the world-class dance school STOMP! said she used to own dancing shoes and never had a pair of rubber shoes until she performed in Sayaw Pilipinas.

Yassi whose dance prowess levels up to that of Mark surprisingly just learned everything from Party Pilipinas. Meanwhile, Mark, Rocco, Enzo and Sef discovered that they are good in isolation, backflip, krumping, popping and other strenuous but exhilarating new dance styles.

Mayton, daughter of Geleen Eugenio, reveals that everyone is exerting their effort to perform beyond their boundaries and they are excited to discover that their performances are beyond viewers’ expectations.

Sayaw Pilipinas members share that they owe a lot of their performances to their choreographers like Euaj Corpuz, a 26-year-old choreographer whose expertise was honed in Los Angeles and New York.

Director Mark said that Sayaw Pilipinas reflects the dance language of today’s generation. “The way they take risks in dancing, it’s a statement. And that kind of dancing is what today’s youth can call their own.”

Director Rico takes the discipline a notch higher when he commissioned Ballet Philippines’ artistic director, Paul Morales as dance director and featured some internationally-acclaimed dance companies like the Ballet Philippines and Airdance. Direk Rico also launches new breed of talents in each episode, like dance prodigy Julian Trono and groups GrooveJacks and Addlib that specialized in hip-hop, and Seven who mixes jazz with modern beats.

Sayaw Pilipinas gives its segment a new twist with the introduction of the so-called Dance Republic, a collision of artists and world-class performers to create a powerful production number. While Sayaw Pilipinas will showcase the dance numbers of its members, Dance Republic, meanwhile, will bring in stars who do not usually dance on stage together with the members of Sayaw Pilipinas. Past featured artists include South Korean’s Rivers Crew, Germany’s Darren Drakes and the Philippine cinema’s dance icon, Tirso Cruz III.