The Manila dance scene was energized anew as Red Bull Dance Your Style competition stage the Manila leg for the qualifier round of its free style dance competition late last month.
Qualifier winner Jigoro Gragasin a.k.a “Jigoro”, runner-up Ericson Sabinay, a.k.a. “Eboy” and other participants electrified the dance floor of XYLO at The Palace for the premier dance competition.
The top two winners of the competition will strut it out with 14 others for the coveted honor of representing the Philippines at the 2025 Red Bull Dance Your Style World Final that will be held in Los Angeles, California on October 11 this year.
“I’m so happy and it’s all worth it. Being a full-time dancer, (this is) a big feat for me,” said Jigoro of the win
“Despite the fierce competition on the battle stage, all the love from my fellow competitors is really one of the most memorable things to me about the competition,” he added.
Top freestyle dancers from Manila and neighboring cities competed in fierce one-on-one one-minute battles, showcasing their creativity, improvisation, and freestyling prowess set to a random selection of tunes.
In true Red Bull Dance Your Style fashion, the crowd wielded the power to decide which dancer moved on to the next round and be the ultimate winner.
Lema Diaz, Red Bull Dance Your Style Philippines consultant and a member of the organizing committee, said the Manila leg is the second of three qualifying rounds that Red Bull is holding in time for the national finals set in Cebu this month.
Prior to the Manila qualifier, Red Bull held a similar qualifier round in Davao last month. Jigoro and Eboy will be joined by Sugee Sambaan, a.k.a. Suji, and Earl John Sumaylo, a.k.a. Spadeckx, who lorded it over the Davao qualifier.
The Cebu qualifiers meanwhile will be held right before the national finals, on the same day.
“So that’s Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao,” said Diaz.
Sixteen participants will meet at the finals, 10 of which represent the top winners of the three qualifier rounds — two in Manila, two in Davao and four in Cebu. The remaining 6 are wild card participants that earned a ticket to the competition finals through other dance competition that are not directly under the auspice of Red Bull, according to Diaz.
“And then whoever wins that, they get to represent the Philippines in LA in October,” according to Diaz, of the all expense paid trip.
The qualifier coincided with Red Bull Dance Your Style Asia Tour’s stop in the Philippines, with 2024 champion MT Pop of Vietnam gracing the occasion.
Japanese Hip-Hop dancer and 2022 Red Bull Dance Your Style World Champion THE D Soraki, as well as Korean Waacking queen and 2024 Red Bull Dance Your Style Korea National Finalist Yoon Ji joined MT Pop for the Manila stop of the tour.
This gave the global and local street dancers a rare opportunity to come together and help elevate street dance in Asia.
“It’s been a long time coming. I’ve really been wanting to come to the Philippines, and a lot of dancers from here have been messaging me to ask when I will come here. Finally, I’m in the Philippines and I’m really happy to be here,” said MT Pop.
“Immediately, everybody has given us such a warm welcome and shown us a lot of love. I’m from Vietnam, and I’m happy to get a chance to spotlight great dancers from Southeast Asia and share the stage with them,” he added.
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