Dancing as a way of life

We love to sing and dance. A true testament to our love for dancing and singing is the number of musical extravaganzas on television. We cannot do without singing and dancing during fiestas, birthdays, weddings and other occasions. The Pinoy’s inherent love for dancing and singing has brought us to the world stage. Look at Lea Salonga, who opened doors for the Filipino talent to the world stage. Her portrayal as Kim in Miss Saigon gave her the Tony and the Sir Laurence Olivier Awards.

Lani Misalucha is making waves in Las Vegas. Jasmine Trias swept Filipinos and Americans off their feet when she made it to the top three in American Idol. Jasmine’s huge following here and in America rallied behind her during the contest.

More and more Pinoys are making it big in the world of singing and dancing. The most recent Filipino to capture worldwide attention is Cheryl Burke, grand prize winner in Dancing with the Stars. Cheryl partnered with Drew Lachey (brother of Nick, former husband of Jessica Simpson) to win the Grand Prize.

Cheryl grew up in America. Her mother Sherri Bautista Burke is from Nueva Ecija. Cheryl was exposed to dancing at an early age. At four, she enrolled in ballet but discovered ballroom dancing at 10. She trained in standard dance and Latin. At 13, Cheryl was already competing and traveling all over the world. Even before Dancing with the Stars, she already won the 2005 World Cup Latin Professional Rising Star Champion, the 2005 Ohio Star Ball Rising Star Champion and the 2005 San Francisco Open Latin Champion.

For Cheryl, dancing is a way of life. Cheryl comes from a family who loves to dance. Her mother, a registered nurse who runs a successful business in America also dances and competes in amateur ballroom dancing. Cheryl says she must have inherited her dancing talent from her maternal grandmother, Rosario Bautista, a Physical Education teacher in the Philippines.

Dancing with the Stars came at a very opportune time. Initially, Cheryl didn’t know who her partner was but she secretly wished she would be dancing with someone with a musical or entertainment background. According to Cheryl, even though Drew does not have a background in dancing, he is a quick learner. "And he listens to the music. He is very good with music."

Cheryl and Drew practiced at least four hours a day, and sometimes for as long as 10 hours. The Dancing with the Stars competition was tough. Her partner Drew never got nervous, but Cheryl felt the jitters. Cheryl and Drew pitted talents with George Hamilton, Tatum O’ Neal, Lisa Rinna, Tia Carrere and Stacy Kiebler, who was touted to be her biggest rival.

Cheryl visited the country when she was six years old. She loves Filipino food. She also visited her mother’s family in Nueva Ecija. "I have a lot of family there," she says.

The Village People, widely known for its outrageous costumes, catchy tunes and suggestive lyrics has a new album, We Want You, a compilation of their greatest hits. The remastered album released by Alpha Music contains 17 tracks of its best titles, including a remix of its most popular songs like In The Navy, YMCA, Go West and We Want You.

The Village People was a novelty band managed by two French musicians Jacques Morai and Henri Belolo. They were formed by Morai and Belolo to showcase and perform their disco music creations. The band’s name takes off from a well-known gay area of New York City, Greenwich Village. The Two Frenchmen got their inspiration for creating an assembly of American archetypes based on the gay men of the village who dressed up in various fantasy ways. Village People members were dressed up as a police officer (Victor Willis), an American Indian Chief (Felipe Rose), a constructions worker (David Hodo), a soldier (Alex Briley), a leatherman biker (Glen Hughes), and a cowboy (Randy Jones).

As a band, the Village People was extremely prolific. They were putting out an album every year from 1977 to 1983. The album Village People and Macho Man released in 1977 turned platinum and so did the next two, Cruisin and Go West. The album Live and Sleazy released in 1979 went gold.

But 1980 was by far the Village People’s finest. The group made its movie debut via the film Can’t Stop The Music which was based on their rise to stardom and their life in New York. The soundtrack of the film went platinum. Another album, Renaissance, went gold in 1981. Its final album Sex Over The Phone went gold but the glory of disco music has long been gone and the Village People split up in 1986. The Village People sold more than 40-M albums and 100 million singles worldwide.

We Want You, contains the cuts Can’t Stop The Music, Sex Over The Phone, Village People, Ready for the ‘80s, Do You Wanna Spend The Night, I Am What I Am, San Francisco, Fire Island and Hot Cop. The album is available in CD format at all Alpha outlets nationwide.