Crowd favorite Nemesian Dance Theater took home the top prize of Olango Island’s Sinulog Street Dancing and Ritual Showdown held last Sunday at the vacant lot of St. Agustin church in Barangay Sta. Rosa.
The 75-member contingent from Barangay Baring received P30,000 plus a trophy for the Best in Sinulog Dance, P10,000 cash for placing first in the Best in Costume. Their choreographer, James Sagarino, also received P5,000 cash for the Best in Choreography.
The Nemesian Dance Theater has been winning the top prize for four consecutive years since 2015.
The second prize went to Sta. Rosa National High School Dance Theater, which received P20,000 cash plus a trophy. Third place winner Barangay San Vicente pocketed a P15,000 cash prize plus a trophy, while Tribu Kabatan-onan sa Olango got a P10,000 cash plus a trophy. A consolation prize of P5,000 was given to a non-winning group.
The dancers from Sta. Rosa National High School also received P7,000 and P5,000 cash prizes for placing second in the Best in Costume and Best in Street Dancing respectively, while third placer Tribu Kabatan-onan sa Olango took home P5,000 cash.
“Dagku na gyud ang among prizes karon than the previous years ug daku kaayo among pasalamat sa mga sponsors nga mitabang sa nagkadaku nga Sinulog Dance contest dinhi sa Olango Island,” (Our prizes now are bigger than that of the previous years and we are very thankful to our sponsors for extending help to the Sinulog Dance Contest here in Olango Island which is getting bigger),” said Sta. Rosa Barangay councilor Ayesa Juezan.
Juezan said those who sponsored the cash prizes included balikbayans and city officials like Mayor Paz Radaza and Vice Mayor Marcial Ycong.
Now in its fifth year, the Sinulog Dance Contest was organized through the cooperation of St. Agustin Parish and barangay officials.
Lapu-Lapu City Councilor Dr. Cipriano Flores represented Mayor Radaza who was not able to attend.
Fr. Meliton Medida, parish priest, said that aside from the Sinulog Dance Contest, they also had a fluvial procession and a Mass in honor of the Holy Child Jesus.
The Sinulog street dancing started in Barangay Talima, which is about two kilometers away from the showdown venue.
People crowded the streets and foreign visitors also witnessed the event.
Chief Insp. Miguel Andeza, chief of the Talima Police Station, estimated the total number of spectators reached 6,000.
Andeza described the event as generally peaceful as no untoward incidents happened.