BARELY two weeks after winning a title in the World Hiphop Dance Championship in Phoenix, Arizona together with the Legit Status, Maria Angela “Gela” Campo Atayde is on a mission of bringing acting and dancing together in the showbiz world.
The upcoming young actress and hiphop dancer shared her thoughts in a news conference organized by the Star Magic Philippines over the weekend, saying that she really likes to be recognized as a dancer and be able to hone her acting career at the same time.
“I think after this, one of the big reasons why I really wanted to enter also showbiz was to introduce dance,” the daughter of Art Atayde and veteran actress Sylvia Sanchez said. “I guess as a dancer, I realized that it is not as appreciated as we hope it 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 actually dance is all about — not just the hiphop but maybe exploring other styles so that it can be talked about more often,” she added.
The 21-year-old Star Magic cast of the ABS CBN’s upcoming series “Senior High” also shared that dancing and acting are the paths she always wanted to take since she was a little kid, noting that she fell in love with dancing and hoping to introduce it into the industry even more.
“Aside from this, I think my main goal is to be able to make at least a movie or a series about dancing or anything related to dance,” Atayde, also the sister of Quezon City first district Congressman Juan Carlos “Arjo” Atayde, Ria and Xavi, said.
Gela returned to Manila last August 12 along with the other members of World Hiphop Dance champion (MegaCrew division) Legit Status after beating all 54 participants starting from the preliminary up to the final stage last August 6.
Asked what’s the winning factor why the hiphop dancers from the Philippines were winners in the Worlds, Gela believes that Filipinos have the heart to what they do when everything gets tough.
“There are so many great dancers in the Philippines — and it’s really hard to answer that question because every Filipino has the heart to what they do,” she explained. “For the Legit Status, our eagerness and the perseverance to get there were the reasons why we won.”
The UP Streetdance Club also nailed the bronze medal in the MegaCrew division.
Gela as a Dance Princess? Why not?
“It would be great to have that title especially the dance on it. My biggest dream is to introduce dance into the industry so yeah,” Gela said, who is under the tutelage of Legit Status coach and trainer Vimi Rivera.
She added that she’s not afraid to be compared with anyone in the industry as long as she’s using her heart to what she’s been doing all the time to fight and persevere, according to the advice of her mommy Sylvia.
“I think there will be circumstances that we will be compared and I’m not scared because I will deliver. I want to think I am lucky because I have dance that set me apart with my siblings and mom. No pressure from them. I think I don’t have anything to prove,” Gela added.
Gela said before he knew that she wanted to become a dancer she knew that she wanted to become an actress too. “It was something I wanted since I was born. I was inspired by my mother while she’s working during her tapings. I still have so much to learn.”
The third year AB Communication Arts student from De La Salle University is also very thankful to the support of her family, relatives, friends and the Legit Status in her new career path as an actress and at the same time a world champion dancer.
