Cebuana freestyler is Red Bull Dance Your Style ’25 national champ

CEBU, Philippines — It was a Cebu vs. Cebu showdown at the Red Bull Dance Your Style 2025 National Finals held Saturday, May 24, when Baby Titan and Nemesis faced off on their home turf, battling with freestyle moves to a medley of High School Musical’s “We’re All in This Together,” KATSEYE’s “Gnarly,” and Chris Brown’s “Yeah 3x.”

Just before the heavy downpour could halt the competition at The Terraces of Ayala Center Cebu, Nemesis (real name Samantha Frances Rivera) was easily declared the champion as audiences voted in her favor with their red and blue fans.

It was third time’s the charm for the 28-year-old from Barangay Guadalupe, who is the first Cebuano to represent the Philippines at the global round of Red Bull Dance Your Style. This year’s international tilt is happening in October in Los Angeles, California — one of the birthplaces of freestyle dancing.

“I feel pressured, but it’s a good type of pressure,” Nemesis told The FREEMAN. “I have a lot of time until October, so I will use that to train and prepare my mindset and body. I want to represent our country well.”

Nemesis has been one of the strongest contenders in the Philippine leg of the Dance Your Style contest. When she first joined in 2023, she was one of the Cebu qualifiers and landed in the top eight. In 2024, she was the Cebu qualifier champion and finished one step short of being the national winner. This year, she entered as a wildcard, and ended up the victor.

“I know God has a plan for me, and if this is really the path for me, it will happen. My journey is a testament to that,” she said, adding that one of her preparations included going to church before the match.

Nemesis got into dancing when she was 18, first starting out as a dance crew member before making her mark as a freestylist and krump dancer.

Like her crewmate and this year’s Cebu qualifier champion Playmaker from their dance group Underground Streets, she avoids eating much before competitions. After she won, her craving was to pair her Red Bull drink with ice cream.

“I restricted myself from sweets and unlimited types of food. I need to have this discipline in training, and what I can eat to prepare for this battle. Now that I have won, I am going to eat a lot and, of course, party,” she said.

As the sole female in the top eight, she noted that the dance scene, especially in krump, remains male-dominated, and she had to step up even further to make a strong, lasting impression.

“Sometimes, I am the only girl battling with a lot of men. But it feels so empowering when I get to exert feminine energy against the masculine energy,” she said.

Explaining her stage name, Nemesis said, “I want every opponent to think I am the hardest fighter they will face, like an arch-nemesis. I want to give them a great battle because I am not easy to compete with. That’s the feeling I want to give them when they battle with me.”

Special guests at the nationals included Cebuana rapper Karencitta, who performed her hits such as “No Apology (Wala Akong Paki),” and Cebuano dance crew SZHD with their crowd-pleasing moves. TikTok dancer Niana Guerrero was also in attendance, showcasing her signature moves to Bruno Mars and Cardi B’s “Finesse” during an intermission.