THE DISCO BULILIT STORY

There are many things that you do not know about me. Some who read this blog only know who I am now. You've worked with me. You've heard me preach. And so on.

But do you know what I have been doing before I became Ptr. Rodney Garcia.

Let's just say I had a very fulfilling childhood.

When I was 12, I was given the great chance to join a dance contest on GMA 7's UNCLE BOB'S LUCKY 7 CLUB. Together with my High School best friend, John Bryan de Vera (who I am still trying to find), we joined DISCO BULILIT. We were serious in our craft: dancing. And we tried to find every opportunity to show what we can do. This was a good venue.

We did our first contest day. It was interesting to be dancing in front of national TV. Not that it was my first time (it wasn't), but to dance for a crowd just gave me such a rush. We didn't know if we'd make it to the finals. But this was already a prize in itself.

We won our first contest day with a tie. Our co-winners were really good. They did some lifting and twirling. We danced Micheal Jackson's SMOOTH CRIMINAL so there were no lifting and twirling. Little did we know that we would be meeting them again in the finals.

An interesting detail: we weren't suppose to be in the finals. Our graduation day was on the same day of one of the elimination rounds. Of course, our studies were top priority. So we didn't go. Until a few weeks later, they called us back to the show. So we did.

Three contest dates later and we were in the finals. I've never been in a situation like this before. We knew we would be facing competitive teams. No stopping for nothing.

I think I watched MOONWALKER twenty times. My mom bought us some close-to-the-real thing costumes based on the movie. We tried to replicate the look. We modified the dance moves. We were set.

On the day of the contest, it was all energy. When it was time to dance, I put my game face on. As usual, we were the last to dance. No problem. I was a strategice move since we can check out the competition.

The first pair danced. Very good. Lifting and twisting. The second pair danced. Better. More lifting and twisting. It was like in the movie because we get to meet up in the finals and we were tied in the eliminations. This time, we'll get to know who's the best.

It was our turn. When the two pairs danced, the crowd went wild. When it was our turn, it was silent. For an instance, I thought "Man. Where did all the noise go." No matter. We gave the best performance of our lives that time. In a moment, I really thought I was Micheal Jackson in Smooth Criminal.

The minutes were like hours. We waited for the results. The judges were reputable. As much as it was a kiddie dance contest, it was like the WORLD CUP to us participants. They announced the names. Third placers were the first pair who danced. It was either us or the one we were tied with during the eliminations.

Then, the whole studio errupted. WE WON!!! And we won by ONE POINT.

Our prize: P3,000 (That was a big deal at that time). I think I bought rubber shoes with that money. Not to mention, I got to go to a disco for a whole afternoon with my family. It was awesome.

There was never another DISCO BULILIT Dance Contests after ours. In a year of so, UNCLE BOB'S LUCKY SEVEN CLUB was cancelled (sad). We were the ONLY DISCO BULILIT Champions. I'm proud to have been one.

This gig opened some doors for me. I'll tell you about it later on.

For now, enjoy the captured videos from the show. My apologies for the quality. It was still in BETAMAX format, you know.

Until then, God bless.