THE BEDAN DANCE Theatre (BDT) lit the stage on fire as it finished fourth in the inaugural National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Season 100 Street Dance Competition on December 12, at the FilOil EcoOil Center.

Led by Team Captain Marc Kenzo Santos, BDT gained strong momentum after emerging as champions during the Manila Quali-Schools Division of the World Supremacy Battlegrounds last November 23.

In an interview, Andrei Bautista, senior member and choreo pool, underscored their participation as “a big privilege,” while further explaining that “we’ve been aiming for this for years, even the alumni matagal na nilang pangarap ‘to.” 

The Lyceum of the Philippines University (LPU) Wildstyle Crew won the chip in the Seniors’ Division with 91.6 points, while the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB), on the other hand, was hailed as the first runner-up with 90.6 points. Jose Rizal University (JRU) finished as the second runner-up with 89 points, whereas San Beda University’s (SBU) BDT fell short of entering the podium by a small margin, garnering a final tally of 88.9

When asked about areas for improvement, Bautista said, “This is something that we really need to discuss as a team,” but remained confident, assuring, “There’s no question that we will work triple, even quadruple, to secure our spot in the National Finals,” considering how, for this year, there came about a limited time to prepare after the team’s most recent win. 

But despite these, Bautista expressed the impact of the Bedan community’s presence during the competition, saying “it’s so heartwarming to see ‘yung buong Bedan community. Sobrang nakakauplift. Thankful kami na makakita lang kami ng isang taga-Beda, sobrang motivated na kami agad, may fire kami para lumaban. Gano’n kalaki yung impact ng presence nila.” 

BDT is set to compete at the National Finals of the World Supremacy Battlegrounds in February.

(with Dianne Radel Magallon)