With international accolades under their belt, the College’s Saint Benilde Romançon Dance Company (SBRDC) is now taking up another challenge abroad; the All Generation Championships (AGC) hip hop dance competition on October 25 to 27 at the SK Olympic Handball Stadium in Seoul, South Korea.
SBRDC, De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde’s (DLS-CSB) resident dance troupe, is trained by legendary dancer and Philippine HHI Affiliate Director Xernan Alfonso. Under Alfonso’s mentorship, SBRDC—commonly referred to as Romançon—has established a collective of student-artists who translate their passion for life into moving, thought-provoking, and socially-relevant choreography.
The All Generation Championships (AGC) Korean dance competition was founded in 2017 by Jiseong Austin Heo, the Hip Hop International (HHI) Affiliate Director for Korea. It holds different categories: Super kidz, Highteen, Adult, Top University, Over40, Silver Star, Pay Back, and All Star Solo Battle.
This year’s AGC marks SBRDC’s first time competition in Korea and international battle of the year.
In an interview with The Benildean, SBRDC’s Company Manager Maui Lucas said, “Most of us in the team have competed internationally so, we’re kind of already prepared and we’re kind of used to it. So, we’re really excited because this is the first time in a really long time that we’ll be bringing a lot of people internationally. We’re 15 so it’s exciting naman for us because it’s a bigger crowd.”
The ID 116 Arts Management student also explained the piece they will perform showcases different styles of hip hop that features the group’s strength.
“It has a lot of different elements like stunts. Basically, it’s a jack-of-all trades piece that we would like to show the world [that] showcases the Philippine hip hop identity,” Lucas added.
Moreover, Assistant Company Manager Inigo Villegas, a Consular and Diplomatic Affairs student said, “It’s very 90s. You can sense with our costume and color scheme naman that it’s very hip hop and very old school classical. We went with the old kasi parang now everyone is doing the modern and urban type. It’s like we want to do something new.”
SBRDC has garnered local and international awards such as 3rd runner up in the World Hip Hop Dance Championship 2014 in Las Vegas, Silver Medalist in the World Hip Hop Dance Championship 2015 in San Diego, and just last year, Gold Medalists for the Ensemble and Solo categories that marked their three-peat win at Hong Kong Challenge Cup Dance Competition (HKCCDC).
