Established in 2006, Bicol Communities League Incorporated (Bicol Inc.) hosted its annual Dance-O-Rama fundraiser on October 5, 2024, at Pabico Club 55. This year’s theme, Just Dance, encouraged attendees to dance freely and showcase their talents as if no one was watching.
The event celebrated a variety of dance styles, including rock and roll, boogie, hip hop, modern, swing, ballet, tango, lambada, jazz, and Bicol’s signature folk dance, the Pantomina Sa Tinampo. This traditional dance gained international recognition on 31 October 2019, when 7,127 participants performed it in Sorsogon province, earning a Guinness World Record for the largest Filipino folk dance. The event was led by then-Governor Francis “Chiz” Escudero, now the Senate President of the Philippines, and his wife, Heart Evangelista.
Dance-O-Rama 2024 acknowledged outstanding performances that lit up the dance floor. Chloe Lofthouse and Ysabella Alfonso received awards for Best Young Solo Dancers in modern and jazz. Man Recio earned the Best Male Solo Dancer award with his dance medley, while Mimi Hernandez Masmela’s Hula moves secured her the Best Solo Dancer award. Doris and Ryan Agcaoli won Best Dance Partners for their newspaper dance, and the Pilipino-Australia Sydney Association was named Best Dance Group of the night.
This event, first held in 2010, began as a fundraising effort for the Adopt-A-School Project initiated by the late Chairperson Delfin “Boy” Posada, Jr. “Our Adopt-A-School Project, which provides new computer packages, has now reached more than a dozen remote primary and secondary schools in the Bicol Region. This year, we have already allocated computer packages to Masbate province, where I come from, and Dance-O-Rama 2024 will support the next remote schools in the province of Albay,” explained the current Chairperson Dr. Alice Posada.
“The event is also held annually to bolster Bicol Inc.’s calamity fund, which provides aid to typhoon victims in the region, including those affected by the recent Typhoon Kristine that impacted every province. Since the Bicol region has been declared in a state of calamity, all proceeds from this fund will be distributed equally to Caritas provincial centres in Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Albay, Sorsogon, Masbate, and Catanduanes, as well as to beneficiaries served by Angat Buhay in Naga and Gawad Kalinga in Sorsogon,” added Secretary Roberto “Bobby” Lastica.
The event was co-hosted by Catanduanes Council Representative Jinky Marsh and Mr. Lastica. Bicol Inc. expressed gratitude to the Australian Funeral Plan and Invocare, its major supporters for this year’s fundraising project.
Dance-O-Rama 2024 not only celebrated the joy of dance but underscored the collective effort to support the Bicol region’s future.
