Before Saturday, I decided to do a little research. I looked up what the events in the competition were, as well as the requirements of each one. As it turned out, the event was the DSCPI (Dance Sport Council of the Philippines, Inc) Midyear Ranking and Competition. Good thing that Olivia was also online while I was doing so. I had no idea what the other stuff meant, and she cleared it out for me, and even shared with me a bit of her firsthand experiences back when she used to compete (as she had stopped for about a year now). Then I also invited Iam to come with me to the event as well.
Ian had mentioned that their calltime was at 8 in the morning, and their event would be at 9. Considering that I haven't been to the Ultra for over a decade, I had allotted a lot of commuting time, and ended up arrived almost at the same time as their calltime. The gates weren't open yet, but there were already people milling about. Found Ian almost immediately when I had arrived, near the ringside entrance of the Philsports Arena (sort of where the participants were to go), so I went over to say hi. Ate Helen's car had just pulled up then, so I said hi to her as well. Even Bonbon arrived at almost the same time we did.
When they all went inside, I went back to waiting outside the gate. It took a little while, but by 9am, they finally opened the gates, so I secured my ticket and went inside the venue. The participants were still all over the floor, still warming up and practicing their routines.
Arknee and his sister (I forgot her name, sorry) joined me after securing their own tickets from Ian, and we watched all the Latin ballroom events. Iam had slept in, but she managed to catch up.
It was so fun watching all those different events that morning. Latin ballroom consisted of the chachacha, the rumba, the samba, the jive, and the paso doble. There were participants of all ages, ranging from the juvenile division, to the juniors, to the older couples. I think Ian and Ate Helen were competing in 2 events (Special Event 2F, and Special Event 2 4-dance, though I'm not sure about the second) in the semifinal round. Bon was also in a couple of them, I think. It was awesome watching all the couples on the floor, dancing their asses off in front of the judges that were scattered around the edge of the floor. I was fascinated with all the dancers, especially the kids. Even they were better dancers than I am, haha. And how do they manage to show off their routine without bumping into the other participants? They were all so amazing and I was so enamored by the pretty costumes and all the choreography. I could see all the basic steps (and "basic-advanced," as Ian had called it) that I had learned in class, and then some.
After the semifinal and final rounds of each of Latin ballroom events, it was time for the standard dance participants to warm up and rehearse on the floor. Iam and I took this as an opportunity to have lunch, so we left the venue for a while and crossed the street to Aysee's to have some sisig and papaitan. Oh yum. Plus it was good quality time to just sit and talk with my best friend after a long while. While we were in the middle of eating, Ian, Arknee and Arknee's sister (is her name Aya?) arrived to have lunch there as well. They finished up earlier than we did, as Iam and I took our time. When they were about to head back to the arena, Ian had asked me if I was ready to compete in October? Huwat? No! I'm not yet ready! Hahaha!
After lunch, Ge picked up Iam up, and I went back to the arena. Sat with Arknee and his sister again while the participants for the standards were still warming up. Bonbon and Ivan even joined us for a while. Arknee and his sister decided to go home for a bit, as the awards would still be much later in the day. As for myself, I had no idea how long I would be staying, but I still wanted to watch as much as I can.
I ended up staying until the very end. I watched all the standard dances (consisting of the waltz, tango, slow foxtrot, Viennese waltz, the quickstep). It was super different from the Latin, of course, from the costumes, to the actual dances, but both have their equally beautiful qualities. The grace and the exotic curves of the Latin dances. The simplicity and the elegant lines of the standards. It makes me want to learn all of them.
After the Latin dances, there was a short break for about 15 minutes before they began the actual program of the day's event, which included a parade of all the participants. I didn't want to leave my seat anymore because it was right smack in the middle, so I just stayed inside. Thank goodness I always bring a book with me, hahaha. At least I have company in one of Steve Harvey's publications.
There were a few more Latin and standard events after the program and parade, and Bonbon was in one of them. My goodness, he was that good a dancer. Iam had even commented during one of Bon's earlier events that even his eyebrows projected as far as his movements did. Sometime then, from across the venue, I saw that Arknee and his sister returned, sat next to Ian and Ate Helen while they watched the events, but Aya had to leave after a while.
Stuck around for the awards as well. Ian and Ate Helen had placed 4th in Special Event 2F. Bonbon and his partner Beth had placed 3rd in Special Event 2 4-Dance and 2nd in Special Event 2 5-Dance. By then I could see Ian and the others about to leave the venue, so I left my seat as well and decided to wait for them outside.
Ian had invited me to join them for dinner at Nipa Hut, so I did. There was Ian, Ate Helen, Arknee, and Ivan. Bonbon still had one more event ranking, but he just followed after that. Chit chat galore. I learned a lot from all their stories (and some gossip, hahaha). Got some encouraging words and advice from Ian, and a whole lot more advice and reality check from Ate Helen, plus some crazy quips from Bon. And here's a first. This might not be a big thing, but I had my first taste of beer, hahaha. Yes, I'm a social drinker, but I always prefer hard liquor and mixed drinks. I never really liked the taste of beer. But of course, I had no choice that night, hahaha.
All in all, it was one pretty good day. It was somewhat an educational field trip for me. Plus I spent it with good friends, both old and new. And who knows, if I keep this going, I might be one of those dancing out there on the floor someday.
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