By Gabriela Baron
Mickey Yatar from Baguio City will represent the Philippines at the Red Bull Dance Your Style world finals in Johannesburg, South Africa in December.
Top 16 dancers, pre-selected and evaluated by Philippine Allstars member Vince Mendoza, went head-to-head against one another as the crowd served as judges.
Yatar said the victory was “surreal and unexpected.”
“Surreal. ‘Yun talaga yung feeling, parang ang bilis… ang bilis nung pangyayari. It was so unpredictable. Hindi ko sobrang [in-expect] na manalo. During the moment pag nasa stage na ko, there’s energy talaga na lumalabas sa akin, ready to perform,” Yatar told PTV Digital.
“Feeling ko isa sa naging advantage ko is I was able to explore a lot of styles out of my comfort zone siguro… I really tried to learn everything,” Yatar added.
As for his preparations, Yatar said he will consult his dance mentors and teachers, as well as his fellow dancers.
“I will consult yung mentors, teachers ko, [yung mga kasama ko] sa top 16, tatanungin ko sila isa-isa kung ano pa ‘yung ma-i-improve ko sa dance ko. I will ask for their advice and guidance and then I will train physically and mag-research kung ano ‘yung magiging weather dun sa South Africa,” he added.