Paul Delgado: Rediscovered

Dance is an art, a discipline, an expression, and a stress buster!

Or so this master believes.

Paul Yraola Delgado made headlines in the past two and a half decades and still counting. Finding his way into what he loves the most, this writer also found his way to an interview with this dear friend.

Why dance? " That's one thing I have found out myself. Back in my college days, I love to watch those pseudo ballerinas and danseurs, swaying their bodies, chasing their own foot along the halls in college. But I was on an athletic scholarship, no way for me to get involved not only with those fancy glittering costumes ditto with those symmetrical movements done to a melody."

Eventually you got hooked with the dance program. How? "As a very young teacher in the 80s, I found my way to the office of our principal, back then when I was teaching in the University of Cebu (formerly Cebu Central Colleges). Would you believe? I was harassed! I was pushed to create the impossible - that is to come up with a group who will have to sing, act and dance! Such a spectacular group! Thanks to Gloria Grande, my buddy who was a stage actress herself. She really helped me. Well, she got me hooked! The group eventually metamorphosed, not into a moth but into a theatrical dance group. That's where we got our name: Bantawang Kabataan Dance Company (bantawan - the old Cebuano term for stage).

"At first, it was a job that later became a hobby for me. Pure leisure was driven out from bringing students who had the same interest and skill together - art appreciation at its finest. But mind you, the effort was mind draining, too. So I decided to quit the job in 1991," Paul pointed out.

But you still ended up choreographing for your group, Bantawang. You have'nt managed to shake off that dance itch, did you? "Eventually, I became a Physical Education teacher aside from being an English language 'evangelist'. That dance itch caught me again. In 1995, anyone could see me in a small four-cornered block in UC. They say it was a dance hall. I call it a classroom, my office, a gadget room of sorts, my siesta apartelle, my dining place, my home. Indeed, it was also home to my performers, drum beaters, everyone who has the heart for that itch to dance."

And how did you move on? "You can say it was a renaissance, a rebirth that I can say again and again and again.... The group molded into a colony, not with that aim of having dance for self satisfaction, but with a noble motto, inspired by the heart and mind to create, visualize and educate. This was a motto printed boldly in our shirts, too."

"I believe in a strong foundation that could lead us to a strong edifice. We're doing ballet and even experimented mixing varous dance disciplines with ballet. Although I've never been to ballet class, I do a lot of readings and research, watch videos and staging," Delgado explained.

"Today, after moving on to inspire more people and getting more aquainted and in touch with my rural origin in Lilo-an, my group has managed to be the mainstay of Plantation Bay, where we hold our shows on a weekly basis to this very date," he continued.

Humble beginnings let loose as this athletic persona turned out to be a lover of the dance. Winning over numerous dance contests and festivals like the Sinulog in this city and the city of Mandaue, Paul Delgado thrives to be the best in his field.

It is no wonder why at this moment he still utters the very same words he has uttered ever since: "Come on! Let's get into that itch - that itch to dance!"