Cebu dancesport makes a sweep

The big news for dancesport is not just its inclusion in the 2005 Southeast Asian Games here in the Philippines, but the announcement that it will be held in Cebu. Already, Team Cebu City Dancesport is frantically putting together plans for a spectacular competition, with the Waterfront Hotel group throwing its support behind the organizers this early.

Cebu also made a big splash Saturday, as it overcame terrific competition and hauled 11 golds, nine silvers and eight golds in the 5th Dancesport Council of the Philippines (DSCP) quarterly ranking and competition held at the PhilSports Arena Saturday.

The Cebuanos, and emerging power in the sport, have independently built up their team to its present strength, both in skill and in numbers. Team Dancesport Cebu City, clad in its eye-catching flaming purple team jacket, stormed into Manila 70-strong, included stunningly talented children from its training program for out-of-school youth. The results speak for themselves. In some of the events, the visitors even swept golds, silvers and bronzes. Each triumph brought shrieks of delight from their massive delegation.

"We really strive for unity in all the things we do," said the soft-spoken Edward Hayco, director of Team Dancesport Cebu City, whose wife Eleanor bagged two silvers last Saturday. "We make sure that we do what we say, and we do everything together. At the same time, whatever we learn, we trickle down to the rest of the team." That policy has curbed intrigue and infighting, and has made Team Dancesport Cebu City a model not just for their sport, but for all others.

The biggest story of the weekend’s competition was the triumph of the husband and wife tandem of Jerswin and Anne Poloyapoy. Whereas most couples concentrated on only one event, the two veterans put themselves through a grueling training regimen to spearhead Cebu’s campaign, claiming the gold in the prestigious 10 Dance (which requires mastery of both Latin and Standard disciplines) and the 5 Dance Standard. Cebu completed a sweep of the top events when Michael Mendoza and his partner, Italian champion Francesca Mazzcurati scored the gold in the 5 Dance Latin, as well.

The Poloyapoy pair is the most inspiring story in Philippine dancesport today. Though based in different regions (Jerswin is originally from Cebu and Anne in Manila), they were brought together by a mutual love of dancing. They met, fell in love, and now share their passion for dance with the world. Teaching and training has been very demanding, but with a great support group of fellow instructors and friends, they have progressed dramatically over the past few years, despite also having to raise two little children and traveling to competitions.

Their success in the Dancesport Council of the Philippines quarterly ranking and competition was a major breakthrough for the Poloyapoys. They are currently the leading couple for powerhouse Cebu, and have already triumphed in other countries, defeating couples that have had longer exposure to the sport. Ironically, for the past eight years, they have been unable to conquer the field in Manila.

"They’ve had a mental block about competing against their own countrymen in Manila," theorized Hayco, the genial businessman who has been a pillar of support and unity for the team in the south. "Strangely, they’ve been able to beat the best of other countries, but I guess they felt intimidated because Manila is where the DSCP is also based, and the best dancers are there."

Most entertaining were the participants in the Juvenile division, who were simply giddy when their names were called. The youngsters put on a magnificent show three weeks ago at the Sportswriters Association of Cebu Annual Awards night, a foretaste of their routines for the ranking competitions.

"It isn’t easy for us, because we’re such a big group," admits Eleanor Hayco. "Imagine, we have to find sponsors to bring all the kids here. We travel to Manila three times a year because the competitions are here. But we have the most participants, and the teamwork is very encouraging."

And the awarding of the SEA Games competition to Cebu is an acknowledgment that they have done great work for their sport. Considering that the International Olympic Committee voted to exclude dancesport from Olympic competition the other year, this will be a first step towards them changing their minds. The success of a SEA Games staging of the event will definitely make history.

And Cebu will be smack in the middle of it all.