Davao City, Philippine’s Finest: Groove Unlimited Dance Community

I grew up dancing since I was in 1st grade. But never have I seen anyone else who loved dancing as much as I did. Nobody was more hyped up for practice than me and it was hard for a dancer to be able to cope with the crave of dancing without companions who share the same sentiments. Well, at least not until I got to college.

I got the chance to get stunned in awe by how passionate the dancers were when I move to Davao City, Philippines for college. I joined the FACES crew that was performing in the University of the Immaculate Conception’s activities and also one of the 1st members of the Groove Unlimited Dance Community.

Groove Unlimited Dance Community is a group of collective individuals who share the same passion for dancing. It started with just a few crews but as of today the community includes 38 crews all over Mindanao, mainly from Davao City and a few crews outside the country. Envisioned by Bryan Grandeza & Christopher Nellas in 2005 the community finally had its chance to start off in May of 2006 with the crew Groove Unlimited as its core group which was handled by the two. This community is also involved in the concerns of the society. GUDC supports peace in Mindanao, the protection of the environment and reaching out to those unfortunate ones who are in dire need of help. As quoted by the founder “GUDC is not merely a group or a network of people having a common interest, rather it is a vision— a community who is passionate, who shares, who cares, who inspires and who appreciates.”

The biggest event that GUDC is organizing is what we call Groove Stylz. Groove Stylz is an event where different crews within the community showcase their talents in a night filled with inspiring pieces made by the most promising choreographers within the community. Groove Stylz is an event that has been constantly being organized by GUDC since Groove Stylz 1 and it has been going on for 9 Groove Stylz already.

I remember back in the day when crews were caught up on showing who reigns supreme in the stage. Styles were very much different and a lot of crews were centered in one particular genre. Competitions were rampant and emerging victors of these competitions were dubbed “the best” and the ones who were inadequate were marked “losers” and could sometimes lead to the crew being disbanded.

Sad story right? But from what I had seen in the past, it all changed as the Groove Unlimited Dance Community brought these crews together and they started to share their knowledge about the different styles of dance. Experts in different genres were learning from each other, strengthening not only their dancing proficiency but also bonds of friendship that proved to one of the foundations of why the dancers of this community only gets better as time passes. This community started out as a group of crews who shared the same passion, but it turned out to be so much more than anyone ever expected. This community became a family.

It’s easy to say you are a dancer, and it’s easy to learn how to dance and get appreciated because of it. But being a dancer is not just about titles and the applause of your audience. It’s an expression of feelings that does not require a single word. A story told by hits, waves, beats and whispers of the heart. I am proud to be a member of this community, and I am proud to be one of the persons which makes this complex process seem effortless.