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| My biggest choreography gig to date! Thanks to Sir Wilson Ng for the opportunity. Nevertheless, among my choreo gigs, cheerdancing is my most favourite. Although my experience as a dancer was not that fulfilling in this field, I was never uncomfortable in making routines for cheering teams. It all started when I was fourth year in college. During the Management Circle Officers meeting, we were having concerns on how to raise funds to pay for a cheerdance choreographer. We knew we surely would have a difficult time finding money since we were students and there were really a lot of things to pay for during the Intramurals. And we acknowledged the fact that one of the main reasons why people were discouraged from joining the cheerdance team was the expensive uniform. So we decided that instead of paying a huge sum of money to a choreographer, we would use the budget to subsidize the uniform of the dancers. The task given to me as the new cheerdance choreographer was challenging. Landing at 4th place the year before that, the pressure of rising again and gaining our title back was a difficult job for me. And so I squeezed everything out from my brain, watched different cheerdancing videos, sought ideas from my sisters, and thought of routines during lengthy 21B and 04L jeepney rides. I would fill my notebook with moves and formations using stick people. Hahaha! Yes, I do that until now.
I handled forty-nine diverse students for the cheerdance that year. With around two weeks worth of practice (or was that a month?), we were able to land in second place. Not bad for a rookie. :) I was still frustrated at not being to regain the championship title in the UP Cebu cheerdance competition. So I volunteered to take care of the team even if I already graduated from school. I looked at different dance approaches and checked what I could use to make an impressive routine. With Sir Barte and some friends as my critics, I was able to create a dance that finally won the hearts of the judges. And so we said hello again to the Cheerdance Champion crown in 2009.  In 2010, I was ready to offer my free services again to help the Management Tycoons maintain their cheerdance championship title. Nevertheless, I was not contacted formally by the officers so I didn't bother developing a concept or looking for music. But barely a week before the start of the Intramurals Week, the president called me and convinced me to help them out. I seriously didn't want to do the task since I was only given a week to use up all my creative juices to make an engaging and mind-blowing cheerdance. I was even angry (I think) on the phone because they contacted me this late. But because the kid was persistent, I gave in. Besides, I could not afford to see the Tycoons come down from their throne. Luckily, despite the lack of time and my non-confidence of the team, they were still able to grab the championship title for the second time. Video here http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=423778329596.   This year, 2011, I was even more pressured to choreograph. My cheerdance concept would determine if the Management Tycoons will be able to enjoy a grand slam victory in this area or if another team will feast on the cheerdance championship trophy. I kept changing a lot of elements in the dance. The music constantly evolved; I even made the music official two days before the performance. Some parts of the dance were deleted even if the dancers have practiced the routine for weeks or long hours already. I was merciless. I made them crawl, roll, tumble, jump, and use their muscles to the highest level. I pushed all the dancers to their limit. I made them do stuff that they couldn't believe they are actually capable of doing. Sometimes, my heart would ache seeing the struggle that the dancers underwent just to give me the effect that I want. Legs get cramped, backs ached, shoulders burned, elbows bled, knees bruised. Yes, every dancer has at least one of those mentioned. But even though it was painful for me (and I don't think everyone of them knows this), I had to do my job as a choreographer. I had to be firm if I had to because only then would people follow me and help me put my concept into a meaningful and engaging routine.
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| During break times, dancers either sleep, study, chitchat, text, watch movies, do assignments, and others. |
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| Poor kids memorizing chants that I later on changed to another one. Everything for me was hard this year. I had to set aside all personal engagements just to help everyone with this year's for-grand-slam-title cheerdance. I was hurt at first especially that I noticed that most of the dancers didn't have confidence in me. They were saying all positive stuff about other departments every single time. Yes, it was good to know how other teams were doing with their dance but I didn't need my own team to lose faith in me. I was insulted because I felt belittled but again, I don't think people ever felt that. Seeing that a lot of the dancers were doubtful of my skills, I was even more determined to show them that I can still make champions out of them. But it was tiresome. People were still talking about other teams hiring San Diego and USC to help them out. And who am I? I am just an Ate Rhoda to them who is not affiliated with prestigious dance troupes in Cebu. I am just a cruel Ate Rhoda who happened to choreograph their cheerdance for free for four straight years. And who happened to help them get a grand slam title. Char. Drama. I guess this is where Zeke's famous line "God favors the humble." comes in. Personally, I have nothing to brag about. I do not belong to San Diego's team nor do I come from a popular alliance of choreographers in Metro Cebu. Again, I am just someone who is passionate about dancing and who wants to share her talent not because she wants to be paid but because it is what makes her happy. Now that the Tycoons have grabbed the grand slam title in cheerdance, I feel very sorry for all the detractors and non-believers. We are the champions, my friends. Concede. Congratulations to the Tycoons! Congrats to Comsci (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8WB05tOIFY&feature=channel_video_title) and SocSci (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXk1szfm7uI&feature=relmfu) for winning the second and third places respectively. PS. Here are the regulations for UP Cebu's cheerdance competition.  |
Labels: art, choreography, musings
