Upon entering college, I joined my first dance team, Kinematix Danc
e Troupe at Northeastern University. During junior year, I transferred to Stony Brook University where I joined the Philippine United Student Organization as well as its hip hop competitive dance team, PUSO Modern. This team has shown me my roots as a person. It strives to bring about the best in every member both as a dancer and a person. Through PUSO Modern, I have been able to push myself past my limits physically and mentally, learn to manage my time, and ultimately maintain discipline.
Check out one of my most recent performances with PUSO Modern:
As a Dance Chair of the 2017-2018 PUSO Executive Board, I’ve had the opportunity to teach choreography to about 200 people. It was my first time teaching, and I did not expect that many people to come learn. While teaching, my students were ask
ing me questions about the choreography, in terms of clarifying certain moves or understanding the musicality of the choreography. It was at this moment, I realized that my students showed a lot of interest in my choreography to the extent that they were asking questions so that they understand the choreography the best they can. I realized that I was inspiring passion in my students by teaching them about dance. In addition, I had the opportunity to give a speech about dancing after the class and to discuss the many possibilities that PUSO holds for dance. This experience was humbling. It was something I’ve never done before, and it has motivated me to continue teaching when opportunities arise. Being a member of PUSO has increased my passion for dancing and has shown me that dance is central to my identity.
Dancing has given me the opportunity to learn from others, travel to different cities for competitions such as Elements, Prelude, and Defining Rhythm, and ultimately learn the importance of team collaboration. Throughout my dance career, I’ve had the opportunity to travel around the world and learn from world-renowned dancers such as Keone and Mari Madrid, Alexander Chung, etc.This form of art has provided me with many skills that I can utilize in a professional setting.