Dance on, Douglas, dance on!

In a country where the need to pay attention to dance is as urgent as yesterday’s news, Douglas Nierras’ 17 years in the business is a feat in itself. It’s also a tribute to a guy who has made it his calling, not only to dance, but to do it oh so well he has won awards for it.

More importantly, Douglas never kept that overflowing talent and knowledge to himself. He’s sharing it, not only to the haves who study in his Powerdance studio, but to the have-nots who watch his group in malls for free.

At Shangri-La Mall, security guards have to gently tell waitresses, cashiers and other workers that they have to close the place for the night after a Powerdance show.

"We’ve performed in town plazas, the public market and even a funeral as much as we’ve danced before Pope John Paul II during World Family Day," says Douglas with unabashed pride.

Which brings him to a gross misconception about Powerdance. "No, no," Douglas protests, "It’s not all glam and glitz, contrary to what others think. It’s hard work. A lot of it."

It’s rehearsing day in and day out, keeping your body trim and fit for all that treacherous balancing, stage traipsing and hopping-on-tiptoe, among others.

His students, among them Maricel Soriano (since her Kaluskos Musmos days) and her niece Meryl (a promising performer, Douglas says), Gary Valenciano, Sharon Cuneta and Regine Velasquez, should know. So, too, do Nanette Inventor, Boy Abunda, Dulce and Eugene Villaluz, who will render a labor of love for their dear teacher when he celebrates his 50th birthday at the Aliw Theater on Sunday, May 31.

While he concedes the commemorative concert Douglas Nierras PowerDance Gold is loaded with more hurdles to overcome than previous shows, this Visayan (Leyte, where his grandparents once played host to Douglas MacArthur right in their own home) who first thought of becoming a doctor is all agog over it.

Who won’t be? It will feature, not just him and the above-mentioned celebrities, but the lowly, heretofore unsung stuntmen and impersonators Douglas has transformed from secondary players to solo performers in their own right.

"You can see their energy, their enthusiasm," gushes Douglas. "Here, they feel needed. They get the kind of attention they don’t get on the movie set, where there are so many things to focus on they’re usually passed over in favor of other production matters."

What Douglas and his Powerdance give these so-called little people, are more than dance techniques. It’s something more lasting: confidence borne of newfound power to express themselves in movement, facial expression, etc. It is, in other words, a feeling of freedom, even self-fulfillment.

It’s easy to see why burned-out is a word that never figured in Douglas’ vocabulary all these years. He’s not just in the business to earn a living. He’s there to help create, to, as he puts it "touch one’s emotions." In other words, to shun mediocrity like the proverbial plague.

"I’d like to dance with conviction," he says, head held high.

So he doesn’t mind being labeled "mataray" as a teacher.

"My middle name is mataray all right," admits Douglas. And he makes no apologies for that. "But my intention is to teach, not to run for president. I want my talent to learn, even if he hates me in the end."

And so they learn. During Lani Misalucha’s concert at the PICC for example, pregnant Powerdance members even twirled around and gingerly hopped onstage, oblivious to their "delicate" condition, as the unsuspecting audience cheered (they would have gasped had they learned the truth).

"I myself dissuade them from dancing since they’re pregnant. But that’s just how my dancers are. They perform even up to the fourth month of pregnancy, and deliver healthy, even talented babies," reports Douglas.

Obviously, the constant exercise does wonders for them.

Another reason Douglas and his team trek to the Powerdance studio in Shangri-La Mall day after day is to teach. It helps a lot in keeping body and soul together.

"Thanks to the rich man’s daughter," reports Douglas, "we can keep on moving, creating."

The intermittent corporate shows won’t keep them alive as much as regular classes in the studio do. So Douglas and his sturdy team welcome all those who come to them — from the very young ("they’re fearless; they even ask me to tie their shoelaces for them), to teenagers ("they have this misconception that I will shout at them") to professionals and retirees. Even those with two left feet are not turned away.

"My art gives me the chance to work hard, to serve others and fulfill myself," Douglas explains why he continues to fight the odds to do what he does best — sans regrets.

True, he has gone more mass-based over the years by choreographing for TV and movies. But far from becoming mundane because of this, Douglas has given even mass-oriented dance numbers a look fit for the CCP or the Met where he has performed so many times.

Unlike others, Douglas transformed the system instead of swallowing it, hook, line and sinker.

The guy has indeed many reasons to rejoice as he enters his golden year on May 28 and celebrates it with a grand feast for the senses a mere three days after.