MANILA – Maria Angela “Gela” Campo Atayde and her group Legit Status emerged as champions in the MegaCrew division of the 2023 World Hip Hop Dance Championship held recently in Phoenix, Arizona.
Atayde’s group sustained the spot all throughout the competition. They bested 54 other competitors. Another Philippine-based team in University of the Philippines’ Streetdance Club finished in third place.
Legit Status, which qualified for the competition after ruling the 2023 Hip Hop International Nationals held last May, showcased several well-coordinated dance techniques.
During the preliminary round, Atayde and Legit Status had a score of 7.98 with a 0.32 gap from the next contenders, while they scored a 7.86 in the semifinals to beat all other competitors.
Atayde and her group made sure to give it their all during the final round. They exhibited a breath-taking four-minute performance to the delight of thousands of viewers inside the venue.
According to 21-year-old Atayde, facing the best hip-hop dancers in the world was tough, but what sets Legit Status apart from the rest was their heart and eagerness to win the competition.
“There are so many great dancers in the Philippines, and every Filipino has a heart for what they do,” Atayde said. “For the Legit Status, our eagerness and perseverance to get there were the reasons why we won.”
Now that the big competition is over, the sister of actor and Quezon City first district Congressman Juan Carlos “Arjo” Atayde is planning to bring her dancing talents to showbiz as part of Star Magic.
“One of the big reasons why I really wanted to enter showbiz was to introduce dance,” Gela said. “I guess as a dancer, I realized that it is not as appreciated as we hope it is really all we wanted to be.”
“So I guess for me since I was given the opportunity to do it, I want to explore and show everyone what actual dance is all about—not just hip hop but maybe exploring other styles so that it can be talked about more often,” she added./PN
