Fil-Am dancer Bailey Muñoz talks about life after 'So You Think You Can Dance'

ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey - After winning the crown in "So You Think You Can Dance" season 16, America's favorite Filipino-American dancer Bailey Muñoz started a 40-show live tour with the talented top 10 in the US and Canada.

His dream of becoming America's favorite dancer came true just a month ago, and now, Muñoz, the first b-boy to ever win SYTYCD, is living the dream.

"This show has changed my life forever, I tell everyone, this is like the greatest experience – the best ever dance competition and best experience that I’ve ever experienced in my life...words can’t describe how I feel right now, I’m just soaking ever single moment and enjoying every part of the journey," he said.

The "So You Think You Can Dance" live tour kicked off October 12 in Atlantic City, New Jersey with a full house.

According to Muñoz, fans who enjoyed watching the competition will be taken to a nostalgic journey back to Season 16's greatest moments.

"We’re definitely doing a lot of routines that were memorable throughout the whole show, and to have those memorable moments and to put it all in one show, I think everyone’s gonna love it," he said.

It's been a month since he read his own name as the winner of the 16th season of SYTYCD, a moment that he worked so hard for all most of of the 19 years of his life.

"Never in a million years, I ever thought I’d make it this far, or even win so... When I read my name, it was such an important moment for me, because it showed my hard work," Muñoz said.

From being a big fan of the show since he was 9, Muñoz has become America's favorite dancer, and a star that inspires others.

"I was that Filipino kid -- always dancing at family reunions and family gatherings, watching the show really started like this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life," he said.

The 40-stop tour ends in December but for Muñoz, his journey as a dancer is just the beginning.

"To me the possibilities are endless… I want to dabble into acting, go back to the commercial world in L.A., in New York and maybe go to Broadway and I definitely want to go home to the Philippines and maybe start something there," he said.

For Muñoz, life is a dance. You just have to find the rhythm so you can sway to the music.

He can definitely dance, and he will be dancing for a long, long time.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Why Cheryl Burke opened up about her childhood sexual abuse

HOLLYWOOD – Cheryl Burke is known for her expert dance moves but many didn't know that she endured a childhood trauma.

In ''Breaking the Silence'', a powerful TLC documentary about childhood sexual abuse aired recently, Burke revealed the ordeal that she went through when a neighbor entrusted for her care molested her.

"It really made me feel like I could speak out and I feel like I've helped a lot of people along the way. They just saw a different side of me that not a lot of people really knew about," she said.

At six years old, Burke also testified against the abuser when he was caught trying to hurt another child.

In opening up, Burke said she wants everyone to know that she's proof that people can have strength to move on from this kind of tragedy.

"But it always helps to talk about stuff like that and it makes you a stronger person because of it," she added.

The Filipino-American dance star also shows that survivors like her cannot only thrive. They can also be champions.

The 'Dancing with the Stars' multiple winner continues to have a successful career on television. She starred on NBC's summer hit "I Can Do That". She also recently guested on the network's ''Hollywood's Game Night''.

The star also has a fashion line Cee Bee, an active wearline available on QVC.

A few years ago, Burke also wrote a book called "Dancing Lessons" that talked about her struggles growing up and how she found success.

Read more on Balitang America.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Meet young Pinoy dancer in Super Bowl half-time show

HOLLYWOOD - A Fil-Am dancer showed off his moves during the Super Bowl half-time show with Katy Perry and Missy Elliot.

Gabe de Guzman is now part of the legendary Super Bowl half-time performance by Missy Eliot and Katy Perry.

"It was such an incredible experience, I just can't explain in words. But I didn't realized the magnitude of it until I stepped on to that stage," he said.

De Guzman initially auditioned for Perry's group and thought at first that he did not get the job. It turns out something better was in store for him.

Perry and Elliot's performance, which include De Guzman, trended nationwide and continues to draw praise to this day.

"When I got the phone call from Missy's choreographer, I was like 'Is this just a dream right now?' I was just like, 'Unbelievable'," he said.

They had only one week of rehearsals in Los Angeles but the California dancer is used to the fast-paced, having previously worked with superstars like Bruno Mars, Justin Bieber, Christina Aguilera and Ariana Grande.

It was a medical condition and watching a dance routine from ABS-CBN shows on TFC that De Guzman gave into dancing.

"I needed to find an indoor activity because I had really bad allergies. But it was just asthma, and my sister she tried to get me dancing. My mom knew I had a passion for dancing because I would jump up and down on her lap at my sister's dance competitions. On my third birthday, I made lots of money doing 'Otso-otso'," he said.

His Filipino parents fully support his dancing career. They drive two hours to take De Guzman to auditions and dance classes in Hollywood.

Though he can't reveal the details yet, De Guzman said there is a chance that he will be a part of a Hollywood television show this year.

Read more from Balitang America:

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Dolphy the OFW: A ‘DH’ and Japayuki in the ’50s

Dolphy was a “DH” (dancer in Hong Kong) and a Japayuki in the 1950s. His legendary career as an entertainer included stints as an OFW (overseas Filipino worker) in Hong Kong and Japan after World War II.

The King of Comedy recounted this experience in detail in his 2008 biography “Dolphy: Hindi Ko Ito Narating Mag-isa”, written by Bibeth Orteza.

Dolphy said it was either 1950 or 1951 when he joined a group of Filipinos who worked as nightclub performers in Hong Kong.

“Entertainers ang isa sa mga unang pangkat ng overseas foreign workers. Kami na siguro ang sumunod sa mga nagtanim ng pinya sa Hawaii,” he said.

Dolphy was recruited by his vaudeville colleague Bayani Casimiro, who led their group composed of two dancers (Bayani and Dolphy), four female chorus dancers, and a band of musicians.

They performed two one-hour shows a night with daily rehearsals and no day off. They changed their revue every two weeks.

“One year ang contract pero pinapayagan kaming umuwi, pa-ten days, ten days, during which time kumukuha si Bayani ng pinch-hitter,” Dolphy recalled.

His salary was P1,050 a week, but he only got P200 from Bayani, who took the lion’s share of P850 as commission. He didn’t mind the huge disparity because he felt indebted to his friend.

Somehow, he still ended up making P800 a week, which was a considerable sum in those days when the exchange rate was P1 to HK$2.80. He could buy an English wool ready-made suit for P15.

The money came handy for Dolphy in his early twenties, who was starting to a raise a family with Engracita “Gracia” Dominguez.

His first child, Manuel “Boy” Quizon, would be born on December 3, 1951. Gracia would give him five more children that decade.

After Hong Kong, Dolphy tried his luck in Japan, to where he would sneak away on six-month stints even after he had already begun his acting career as a contract star for Sampaguita Pictures in 1952.

The atrocities committed by Japanese soldiers during World War II were still fresh in his mind, and his resentments got the better of him when a Japanese man was assigned to become his group’s assistant.

Dolphy gave the assistant a thorough tongue-lashing in Tagalog. The man named Joaquin replied, “Huwag mo naman akong murahin!”

It turned out Joaquin had lived for 30 years in the Philippines and spoke fluent Tagalog and Visayan.

Being away from home also afforded Dolphy plenty of amorous adventures. “Walang problema sa sex life doon. Kung sex lang, ha? Ikaw pa ang susuko,” he said of his Hong Kong stay.

Dolphy was also quite the Romeo in post-war Japan.

“Sa dami ng babaeng naka-fling ko sa Japan, naisip ko pang baka naubos na kasi ng giyera ang lalaki. Japanese women, meron ding mga puti. May mga US bases din kasi do’n marami ring mga Kano. Dumating ako sa puntong nag-ii-schedule na ako ng ilang dates in one day,” he confessed.

He believed he impressed the ladies with his dancing skills. “Mostly mga fling ko, sa sayaw nagsimula…Malakas ang arrive mo kapagka may talent ka,” he said.

His OFW experience also gave him a first-hand experience of the factionalism and lack of unity that would often hamper Filipino communities abroad.

Decades later, at a Filipino gathering in the West Coast, Dolphy would rail against the practice of Filipino-Americans ratting out undocumented compatriots to immigration authorities.

“Pinagsalita ako. ‘Kako, ‘Ang mga Chinese sa Chinatown, ang mga Hapon sa Japanese village, at ang mga Koreano sa Korean town, nagtutulungan. Hindi ba natin kayang gawin ‘yon?’… Matuto tayong magbuklod-buklod.’ Palakpakan sila. Ako lang daw ang nagsalita ng gano’n doon.”

In 2008, Dolphy showed how much he cared for OFWs with the creation of the Dolphy Aid Para sa Pinoy Foundation. The non-stock, non-profit organization grants scholarships to deserving children of OFWs. It is the beneficiary of proceeds from the sales of “Dolphy: Hindi Ko Ito Narating Mag-isa”.

On Wednesday, one day after Dolphy’s death, his son Ronnie Quizon said that donations to the foundation would be preferred over flowers.

source: interaksyon.com