Having the time of their lives

MANILA, Philippines - The mass appeal of Hollywood-made, dance-themed films has been already tried, tested and proven. Closer to home, the local TV landscape has had its share of successful dance-variety shows and dance-reality contests. 

But a “danserye”? The Kapuso network itself coined the term to define Time Of My Life, a “first-of-its-kind” soap opera that throws conflict, drama and romance into the dance floor.

In a recent visit to the set of the primetime series, its young cast members tell The STAR that they recognize the unique position they are in — being part of an original and somehow, groundbreaking concept — and they claim that the behind-the-scenes work are no joke, all part of the effort in trying to live up to Time Of My Life’s tag as Philippine TV’s pioneering danserye.

Mark Herras, one of the male leads, says that apart from the almost daily taping grind, they have dance rehearsals every Sunday. They also have practices during weekdays.

“Nakakapagod siya kasi mahirap pag-sabayin ang dancing at acting. But happy ako sa results at happy naman ako so far na hindi kami binitawan ng audience (since our debut on Aug. 1),” says Mark, who plays the role of Jason, founder of the Motion Masters dance group, whose bitter rivalry with The Elite Crew is one of the foremost threads of the story.       

It helps too that Mark is really a dancer; it was his dancing that generated him votes to get the StarStruck first season male winner title in 2003 and ultimately, gave him his showbiz break. In an industry laden with labels, Mark eventually earned the title “Bad Boy of the Dance Floor,” and he has had the chance to prove this through the regular dance segments in the network’s past and present Sunday variety shows.

“I’ve been dancing weekly since SOP days. I’m into all sorts of hip-hop from waving to popping,” says the Party Pilipinas mainstay. 

One dance genre that he still doesn’t quite dig? “Ballroom dancing,” he says with a laugh.

Mark, nevertheless, says that he is tackling his role on Time Of My Life with renewed energy following the four-month break he took prior to the show.

After his last drama series Langit Sa Piling Mo, he admits to feeling burnt-out. Mark says, “Matagal din akong huminga. Matagal ko na ring hinahanap yung everyday work.”

Another certified dancer on the series is Sef Cadayona, who plays a supporting role as part of the Motion Masters.

Before breaking into showbiz, he was leading the dance team of the La Salle’s College of St. Benilde. He was also already training with the Philippine All-Stars, two-time grand winner of the World Hip Hop Championships.

Like one of the senior cast members Raymond Bagatsing, who used to dance with Ballet Philippines, Sef is also proud of his ballet background. He studied it for a couple of years to enhance his physical flexibility. Sef adds, “Ballet also gives you lung power. You don’t tire easily. I have such high regard for dancers who have classical dance training. Ang galing nila!”

Like Mark, Sef is also part of the Party Pilipinas segment Sayaw Pilipinas.

For cast member Steven Silva, he believes they’re living up to the danserye tag since, from the start, “the production numbers have been great and well-prepared.”

Among the dance numbers, his favorites are the opening number as well as the shadow dance by Mark and female lead Kris Bernal, which was aired a few weeks back.

“We have four to five choreographers working on the different dances,” says Steven, who plays The Elite Crew’s “alpha male” John. 

Steven was the male winner of the last edition of StarStruck. What has he learned so far being in the business for a little over a year now? “When I won StarStruck, I thought it’s gonna be easier, you know glamorous and everything, but it’s actually a business and it requires a lot of hard work,” says the half-Pinoy, half-Portuguese actor.

Another StarStruck graduate is LJ Reyes. This is her comebacking project after giving birth to her firstborn. The young actress is so grateful to be given this second shot at showbiz because “may mga fears ako kung makakabalik pa ba ako, will I get back to shape, will I have stability in my career to support our child…so I’m so happy to have this project.”

She is Zaira, the leader of The Elite Crew, and she describes her character as “sobrang kontrabida.” While she considers it emotionally taxing to be the resident mean girl, she also finds fun and release during the dance showdowns. “I really love dancing. I’m into hip-hop, particularly lyrical hip-hop, which is more fluid and interpretative. I’m in love with the style,” says LJ, who has taken several dance courses in the US.  

LJ Moreno as Zaira, leader of the rival group Elite Crew

But what impresses LJ really is the marked improvement of Kris’ dancing skills. “I’m impressed with Kris because she had zero background in dance.”

To which, Kris readily agrees. In Time Of My Life, Kris is Shane, who is on a quest to achieve her dream of becoming a real dancer. In the course of exploring the field of dancing, she figures in a love triangle with fellow dancers Jason (Mark) and childhood friend Patrick (Rocco Nacino) and uncovers painful things of the past.

Off-cam, Kris is also embracing the idea that she, too, could be a dancer. “Aaminin ko na nahihirapan talaga ako. But every day I do dance training and workshops. Even on my rest day, I still undergo workshops. That’s how serious I am,” Kris says.

She adds that she’s doing this to prove to online naysayers wrong — they who criticized the network for choosing her as the lead of the danserye given her non-dancing background. “I am really beginning to enjoy dancing. When music blares, I find myself tapping and swaying to the beat, or breaking into dance, whereas before I never do it.”

Co-star Mark says that Kris is a natural jazzer (jazz dancer), a comment that visibly delights Kris. 

This week, Kris tells viewers to watch out for an emotionally charged jazz number. “Umiiyak ako habang sumasayaw, umaadlib na ako, ramdam ko kasi yung pain. I never thought I could do it. Nagulat ako sa sarili ko.”

Time Of My Life also stars such drama icons Jean Garcia and Cherie Gil, who play former dancing rivals whose paths cross anew. Time Of My Life is based on an original concept created for GMA Television by Senedy Que with head writer Des Garbes Severino, head choreographers Miggy Tanchanco (modern) and Donald Balbuena (ballroom) and directors Mark Reyes (musicals) and Andoy Ranay (drama). It airs Mondays to Fridays after Munting Heredera on GMA 7’s Telebabad Block.