SPOT.ph recaps the highs and lows of this year’s UAAP cheer-off. Click for more.
(SPOT.ph) Only one event can bring and hold all UAAP schools together: the annual cheerdance competition, held on Saturday, September 17, at a jampacked Araneta Coliseum. From pep to props, each team held nothing back-combining the most innovative dance moves, killer stunts, and flashiest costumes.
Out-pepping competition were defending champions, the University of the Philippines Pep Squad. Channeling Madonna with their identical platinum-blonde bobs and cone bras, the squad’s flawless execution coupled with artistic merit and sheer technical precision was enough to confirm their win even before host Boom Gonzales declared them champions. As the day’s big winners, UP also won first in the Group Stunt category, a new sub-contest where five members of the squad will perform a variety of stunts for a full minute. UP cheerleader Nesza Salvador was also awarded the Samsung Stunner prize.
Making their way to the top three for the first in a long time was the seamless De La Salle University pep squad who won second place. Meanwhile, last year’s second-placer, Far Eastern University, fell one spot down to third.
Other highlights included a breakout performance by the National University, Ateneo de Manila’s "magic carpet" stunt, and the integration of Catholicism in the UST Salinggawi’s routine such as the sign of the cross at the beginning and one of the dancers portraying a "priest" at the end.
Watch the UP Pep Squad’s winning performance at the 2011 UAAP Cheerdance Competition
Photos by Kevin C. Tatco