Philippines to send formidable dance sport team in Hanoi

dance sport team, composed of Sean Aranar, Ana Leonila Nualla, Mark Jayson Gayon, Mary Joy Renigen, Wilbert Aunzo, Pearl Marie Cañeda, Michael Angelo Marquez and Stephanie Sabao, captured the overall title in the 2019 SEA Games held in the Philippines in 2019.

Of the 12 gold medals at stake in 2019, the Filipinos pocketed 10 coming from Aranar and Nualla (Standard Tango, Viennese Waltz and Five Dance), Gayon and Renigen (Standard Slow Foxtrot and Waltz), Aunzo and Cañeda (Latin American Cha-cha-cha, Rumba and Samba), and Marquez and Sabalo (Latin American Paso Doble and Five Dance). They also won two silvers coming from the Standard Quickstep (Gayon and Renigen) and Latin American Jive (Marquez and Sabalo).

HHHead coach German Enriquez said the dancers never stopped training even during the pandemic. “We have been practicing since 2020. During the pandemic, all venues and studios were closed, so our athletes did their training at home. Our meetings were also done through Zoom,” he said.

Enriquez started coaching for the Philippine team in 2019 after his retirement as an athlete. He was a national champion from 2011 until 2017, the year he won the silver medal in the Standard Viennese Waltz category at the Asian Indoor Games in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.

While the current team looked unbeatable, Enriquez admitted that other countries are capable of pulling off surprises in Hanoi.

“Vietnam and Thailand have good dancers, too,” he said. Vietnam finished second to the Philippines in 2019, winning two golds, seven silvers and two bronzes, while Thailand placed fourth with three silvers and seven bronzes.

Enriquez said the PDSFI conducts yearly ranking tournaments to determine the composition of the national team.

“‘Yung national team, dumadaan sa ranking namin. May point system kami. May tatlong competitions kami every year to determine sino ang magre-represent ng county,” the 41-year-old native of Zamboanga City explained.

Enriquez, whose interest in dancing began after joining a competition in college, can easily spot a dancer with a potential to become champion.

“The way one moves, a dancer shouldn’t be struggling. Having a strong body and being a fast-learner are also important,” he noted.

“Mas malaki ang chance maging champion ng athlete kapag, let’s say 12 years old, compared sa older na bata. Mas young, mas okay,” Enriquez added.

Enriquez said the team’s long-term goal is to win the Asian Championships. He also wants his dancers to maintain their physical fitness and learn up-to-date techniques to become better athletes. Focus is on training hard to ensure a successful campaign in Vietnam.

The team leaves on May 12, three days before the start of the dance sport competition at the Long Bien Gymnasium in Hanoi.