Why do the Poreotics guys wear shades?

When the dance crew Poreotics set the mood as front act of Justin Bieber’s concert on May 10 at the SM Mall of Asia (MOA) Concert Grounds, the expected SRO crowd might wonder why they are wearing dark glasses…at night!!!...in the same way that fans were having a hard but fun time trying to figure out who was who among the dance crew Jabbawockeez when they came here last year because all the members were wearing masks.

“You want to know why?” asked Chad Mayate, one of the crew’s three Filipino members during an exclusive phone interview with Funfare along with Charles Nguyen, one of the three Vietnamese members. They were calling from Texas where they had a show. The four other members are Lawrence “Law” Devera and Lawrence “Jet Li” Valles, also pure Filipino like Chad; and Matt (Dumbo) Nguyen and Can Nguyen, also Vietnamese like Charles.

Formed in 2007, the Poreotics has won hip-hop dance competitions in the US, including the top prize in the 2009 Hip-Hop Internationals and, last year, in the fifth season of America’s Best Dance Crew, the third Asian-American dance crew to win after the Jabbawockeez, the first winner.

Is your concert with Bieber on May 10 your first visit to the Philippines?

Chad: As Poreotics? Yes.

Do you speak Tagalog?

Chad: Hmmmm, not really.

(To Charles) Are you and Matt and Can brothers?

Charles: No, we are not. We just happen to have the same surnames. We are not related.

Why did you call your group Poreotics?

Chad: Because we specialize in popping, choreography and robotics.

Have the Poreotics met Justin Bieber?

Chad: Oh yes, we have. We appeared in one of his music videos. He’s a good friend of ours.

How is Bieber as a person?

Charles: He’s a very talented boy, fun to work with.

Is he as good a dancer as the Poreotics?

Chad: He’s a very talented individual, as a dancer and as a singer.

The Jabbawockeez, some of whose members are Filipino. The guys were in the Philippines last year. Have you met the Jabbawockeez?

Chad: Of course, we have. They are our friends.

The Jabbawockeez guys wear masks. Your trademark is dark glasses. Why is that?

Charles: It’s our way to hide our emotions.

Chad: It gives us character.

How was your group formed? Were you friends before you became a group?

Charles: It was Matt, Can and I who formed the crew back in December 2007. Lawrence and Justin then joined us, followed by Chad whom we tapped to substitute for Justin when we competed in the Hip-Hop Dance Championships in 2009. We won and we took in Chad as permanent member.”

What have you heard about the Philippines?

Chad: Oh, great things! We have a lot of friends there that we want to meet. We want to meet our fans from the Philippines.

(To Chad) Are you planning to stay for a few days after the concert to check out some places, maybe Boracay?

Chad: If we have enough time, why not?

Describe the other members of Poreotics.

Chad: Matt is 20, he’s on a break from school. Can is also 20; he’s an artist who makes all our shirts.

Charles: I’m 21 years old and I’m known as the funny member. Oh, all of us are funny. Lawrence is 20; he’s the one who taught us all the tricks.

Chad: Justin is also 23 years old and we call him Jet Li because he’s a big fan of the martial-arts superstar. Me? I’m basically a happy person, very positive and always smiling.

Are you guys still in school?

Chad: We are not done with college yet. I’m into Clinical Lab Science, Lawrence in Radiology, Justin in Kinesiology, Can in Visual Communications, Matt in Cosmetology and Charles is into Educational Training.

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