Douglas Nierras, terror dance mentor

Douglas Nierras is one of the first people to have come aboard the 'StarStruck' express. And for this season, Douglas doesn't plan on going soft para sa new batch of 'StarStruck' hopefuls. But he does want to clarify na hindi naman siya talaga terror. Text by Jason John S. Lim. Photos provided by GMA Network. "Actually, nagtataka nga ako," Douglas Nierras tells us nang banggitin namin na kilala siya bilang terror of the Dance Floor. Hindi naman sa hindi alam ni Sir Douglas na tinatawag siyang terror, but he clarifies, "I really don't intentionally terrorize people. Hindi 'yun ang aking misyon." He tells us that his purpose is for his students to learn how to dance, to learn it properly, and for them to gain respect for the craft. At ito ang dahilan why he is so strict when it comes to his lessons. "Hindi naman ako actually nagte-terrorize, medyo istrikto lang ako," he explains. It's just that, "younger people seem to have a lesser tolerance for strictness." Sir Douglas is happy though na 'yung mga nate-"terrorize" niya ay natututo naman. "After the whole season-long ng 'terrorizing,' sabi nga nila, nakikita rin nila 'yung lesson and value [of what I'm teaching]." Sa kanya naman daw, ito ang importante in the end. "More than anything else, it is what they keep in their hearts-as they go into their showbiz career-that is important to me." "Magtatagal ka lang sa showbiz kapag buo ang loob mo, at buo ang puso mo, doon sa ginagawa mo." Of course, Sir Douglas doesn't want to discount na may kinalaman rin ang talent sa pagtagal sa show business. Pero, "sometimes nga, kahit hindi ka talented, basta you're willing to work hard ay magiging successful ka sa showbiz, 'di ba?" This season, StarStruck V will be introducing season-long mentors para sa bagong batch of contestants. Pero Sir Douglas reveals to us that this is not something they're introducing just now. "When we started StarStruck mga seven years ago, I was really involved in the whole process." He shares with us na talagang binantayan niya ang mga contestants from start to finish nung first batch. "Kaya lang, later on, nagpalit-palit ng concept at nagkaroon na lang ako ng mga episodic involvements." At sa pagbabalik ng season-long mentors, inamin ni Sir Douglas sa amin na this is actually better for them. "In terms na mas may follow-up 'yung naituturo mo, mas consistent-hindi 'yung pang-isahan lang." Like Miss Gina Alajar had said before him, "'yung pang-isahan lang, puwede mo nang kalimutan 'yan pag may bago na namang pressure na nangyari, 'no?" "Pero, if you repeatedly have an exposure to the same teaching values, say for a series of 2-4 weeks na tuloy-tuloy? Medyo tumatatak sa puso mo 'yun." Diin pa niya, "more than anything, more than your utak, mas tumatatak sa puso mo at pagkatao mo." At talagang boto si Sir Douglas sa pagbalik ng season-long mentors. "You can see the season one results are really sterling; medyo matatag ang mga values nung mga bata." As an example, he singles out Mark Herras. "Look at Mark, 'di ba? Consistently nandoon, mayroong estado." "So ibig sabihin, 'yung mentoring, it works." For Sir Douglas, talent is always there. Pero for it to be something more, kailangan ma-exercise at ma-hone. "Kung may talent ka, tapos ta-trabahuhin mo ng masigasig at maigi, siyempre gagaling at gagaling 'yun, 'di ba?" At hindi naman daw sa pagdi-discriminate ng ibang batch, but Sir Douglas says iba talaga ang naging result sa first batch because of the mentoring factor ng show. This November, come back to StarStruck. If you still need reasons, here are some from Sir Douglas Nierras himself: "Number one, it is historical in the Philippines. It was the very, very first reality talent search. Even before we knew, and ma-expose, sa American Idol, mayroon na tayong StarStruck. Number two, it started the whole barrage of talent competitions in the industry here in the Philippines-to mention all networks, StarStruck started it all. And number three, consistently, maganda naman talaga ang results ng StarStruck. "And this time, there is something very different, 'no? You will see the roster of mentors are really not that showbiz." Sir Douglas tells us, nang makita raw niya ang listahan of mentors the first time, "medyo parang masyadong seryoso" ang impression niya. Dagdag pa niya, "mukhang ito na nga 'yung hasaan portion. Nakakatakot nga e." At kung ang mismong Terror of the Dance Floor na ang natatakot-what more ang bagong batch of StarStruck contestants, ano? StarStruck V airs Saturdays after Pinoy Records and Sundays after Kap's Amazing Stories. Or get up to date with what's happening with the new batch of hopefuls through Shout Out: the StarStruck Dailies beginning November 23. Pag-usapan ang mga StarStruck mentors sa pinagandang iGMA Forum! Not yet a member? Register here!