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Davao group to join world street dance championship in December


Groove Unlimited, an amateur urban dance group in Davao City, will represent the Philippines in December in the "World Supremacy Battlegrounds," said to be the world's biggest street dance competitions.
The "World Supremacy Battlegrounds" will be held on December 1, 2012 in Sydney Australia. It will feature amateur and professional hip hop dance groups from different countries like Japan, New Zealand, United States, and Australia.
 
The Philippines is currently the reigning champion of this prestigious dance competition.  In fact, for the past four years, the Philippines has consistently been in the top three groups in this competition.
 
Every year, hundreds of dance groups compete at invitation and qualifying events for the "World Supremacy Battlegrounds," hoping for "fame, fortune, and bragging rights." Inspired by previous Filipino winners Most of them were inspired by previous Filipino winners like Xtatic from CDO in 2007, Xquizyth from GenSan in 2008, Amplified HipHop from Baguio in 2009 and Boyz Unlimited from Luzon in 2011.
Groove Unlimited was established in September 2000 by a group of students and young professionals.
They built their name in Davao City, serving as dancers for the Regional GMA Network shows for about six years before expanding their group to form a community that helps
support the local hip hop dance community.
The team's original eight members saw dance not just a hobby or a distraction, but a means to improve the lives of its members. 
Despite the lack of support, training, and numerous injuries, Groove Unlimited beat
hundreds of professional and more experienced urban dance groups all over the Philippines during the qualifying rounds. The video audition they sent to Australia early this year earned them a spot to be one
of the 14 groups from the Philippines (and the only group from Davao) invited to compete in the finals.
"Changes" through the years  
Groove Unlimited has undergone a lot of changes through the years. The members of the 9th generation of Groove Unlimited that will be competing in Australia include: Bryan Grandeza, a performing artist and athlete, as well as college students Dexter Guibone, Jr., Sheldone Dacalos, Takahiro Kaneko, Noe Ross Calicdan, Kenneth Delideli, Jonathan Endonela, and Lloyd Callao. a registered nurse.
 
Grandeza, leader of Groove Unlimited, is confident that they are the “dark horse” of the Philippine delegation. “Mindanao dancers are very daring and passionate. You can see it in the way that we dance and from other groups coming from Mindanao that we’re not afraid of
physically challenging routines and techniques," Grandeza said. "Filipino dancers, by reputation, are known be very powerful and very strong in terms of technique and style. We Filipinos dance hard and that’s exactly
what we intend to show at the World Supremacy Battlegrounds. We may be unschooled, but we know we can teach them a thing or two on who’s the best,” he added. Saving money for Australia
 
Groove Unlimited is raising funds for their travel to Australia by selling group merchandise,
teaching, doing dance engagements, and competing in dance competitions.  Grandeza said, “We’re not afraid to work in order to pay for what we need to get into the competition. Having sponsorship does help but more importantly, we want our fellow Filipinos to be proud of us. They are asking people to like their Facebook page and watch their videos on YouTube.
"We want them to see how we can make them proud. Because as a group, we are proud of how much we have achieved. Just qualifying for this competition validated our efforts. It shows that Davao City finally has a strong dance community that can produce dancers good enough to compete in an international stage,” Grandeza said. - VVP, GMA News
Tags: davao, dance
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