THE ATENEO Blue Babble Battalion was named champions in the College All Girls Jazz division in the 2017 National Dance Championship (NDC) and also placed third in the All Girls Group Stunts division in the 2017 National Cheerleading Championship (NCC) held on Friday and Saturday, March 10 and 11, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

College All Girls Jazz division

In their first crack at a jazz competition, the Blue Babble Battalion amassed a total of 339.5 points to win the College All Girls Jazz division in NDC. Ateneo was represented by a ten-lady ensemble composed of Francesca Balburias, Julia Casal, Eliza Diaz, Danielle Jardin, Patricia Gumaru, Rachelle Nolido, Sophia Samala, Angelica Soong, Louise Tam, and Nina Turano.

The performance was a two minute and thirty second ode to the abilities of the disabled to create art, cherographed by Coach Julius Quitalig. In the dance, the Lady Eagles did not use their hands, which were tucked in their specially designed uniforms, hence requiring much core strength from the dancers to execute the movements.

“Our coach was inspired by disabled people so our uniform really didn’t have space for our hands. He wanted to show even if you’re disabled, you can still do a lot of the things that ‘normal’ people can do and you can still make art,” said Cheering and Lifting Co-Captain Louise Tam.

Although the Lady Eagles had to make the transition from training on soft puzzle mats in the Blue Eagle Gym to performing on the harder mats in the SM Mall of Asia Arena competition floor, Tam praised her team’s ability to give it their all despite the adjustment.

“We were kind of all nervous kasi our dance is mostly legwork so it’s a lot of kneeling and rolling. We were scared because we didn’t practice with these hard mats, but then we said: ‘It’s one time big time naman so bigay na lahat and sana no one gets injured’ and no one did, so all things considered it wasn’t the best run, but it was a really good run,” said Tam.

Although a jazz competition seemed to be out of their scope, the team recognized the need to try out this new frontier. “They [the coaches] wanted us to try something new and para we won’t be stagnant from CDC until the next CDC,” said fellow Cheering and Lifting Co-Captain Patricia Gumaru.

The Lady Eagles were the only team in the competition after the contingents from two other schools backed out.

All Girls Group Stunts

Amongst six other teams from the likes of De La Salle – College of St. Benilde (CSB), Taguig City University (TCU), and Saint Pedro Poveda High School, the Lady Eagles garnered a third place podium finish (345.5 pts) behind runners-up National University (NU) Team Blue (408.5 pts) and winners NU Team Gold (436 pts).

Bases Patricia Gumaru, Regine Reynoso, Nina Turano and Angelica Soong, flyer Julia Casal, and spotter Danielle Jardin made up the winning Lady Eagles squad.

Recognizing that they were up against stiff competition with teams like NU and CSB, the Lady Eagles went with a routine that would ensure them a clean run rather than attempting more difficult stunts that would have had a higher chance of turning out shaky. This was the path decided upon by Group Stunts coaches Cecilio Gutierrez Cabueñas Jr. and Joseph Buck L. Briones.

“We settled for a routine we know can perform na malinis kasi given we were against really good teams like NU and CSB, so parang in the beginning they [the coaches] were giving us hard stunts, but then eventually we had to adjust para it better na we perform a routine na malinis rather than it being hard, but you won’t be able to pull it,” said Gumaru.

The Lady Eagles surpassed even their own expectations in their third place finish, as all they hoped for was a clean run.

“In the morning, we were just praying talaga [for a] clean run and we’re happy. When they were announcing the top teams, we were all shocked kasi we’re not really known for all girl group stunts.” says Gumaru

Gumaru also believes that the team benefitted from the resumption of their weights training in preparation for their routine, a decision made by Program Director Rafael Aligada and Head Coach of Competing Teams Jacqueline Alolor-Alota.

“In the beginning of training, we couldn’t even toss our flyers super high, then eventually, when we had weights training, we were stronger and we were more stable with everything,” says Gumaru.

Gumaru, who had to make adjustments from being a flyer to a base for the competition, also praised her rookies Casal, Reynoso, Turano, and Soong who give her reason the believe that the future of Babble is in good hands.

“I’m really proud of them. From the very beginning, I always believed in their capabilities as rookies. Although, yes, they are just rookies and are in their first year of college-level competitions, they were able to deliver well on the day of the performance. Despite the trials and difficulties we encountered each training day, they never gave up and always pushed theirselves to their limits. I see a great future for Babble with them in the team,” says Gumaru.

The Blue Babble Battalion also tested their wares in the Co-Ed Group Stunts division of NCC, but were unable to get past the qualifiers for the event.