US-based celeb dancer choreographs BonChon TV ad

MANILA, Philippines - There’s something very catchy and infectious about BonChon’s DanceCrave TV commercial. The commercial features diners enjoying BonChon’s impressive menu then breaking into dance to the tune of the chicken phenomenon’s new jingle, From Here On, BonChon. You probably can’t help but have it stuck in your head for days, thanks to the song and the dancing.

The set design features a dining area where the chairs and tables disappear to let the diners show off their hip moves, deftly tossing food trays and sliding tables around. All while close-ups of crispy chicken, salads, seafood options, chapchae and Ko-Yo entice you all the more. The catchy steps that you can’t help but want to imitate were actually choreographed by internationally-acclaimed dancer Mike Song.

Song already has several TV commercials tucked under his belt. His impressive resume includes commercials of powerhouse brands like Disney XD, Ford, Microsoft and Virgin America Airline. It was a foregone conclusion that BonChon was going to be the next for him. With over 30 million views on YouTube, Song has established a presence as one of the most recognizable personas in the dance scene. Dance enthusiasts will also recognize his name because of his involvement with dance crews and projects such as Step Up Revolution, Blaze: World Tour and Kinjaz.  Born in Redondo Beach, California, Mike was inspired to dance by both American and Korea pop artists such as Michael Jackson, Usher, H.O.T. and Yoo Seung Jun. When he appeared in The Ellen Degeneres Show to perform Gangnam Style with his surprise, equally talented mom, we finally found out where he got his dancing genes from.

BonChon flew in the 25-year-old Korean-American from L.A. to choreograph and personally choose the performers for the DanceCrave commercial.  However, there was a Pinoy connection even before the project. He was one of the creative forces behind Kaba Modern of America’s Best Dance Crew Season 1. Kaba Modern is a spin-off of dance group Kababayan, a student group from originating from University of California-Irvine that performed hip-hop during Pilipino Cultural Nights at the university. Song joined the group shortly after he enrolled as an economics major. He soon became the crew’s director-choreographer and led them to a first place win at the USA Hip-Hop Championship and second place at the World Hip-Hop Championship. BonChon rounded up some of the best Filipino dance groups to work with Song: Manoeuvres, Philippine All Stars and G Force. Manoeuvres is known best for being Gary Valenciano’s exclusive back-up dancers. Philippine All Stars emerged from the Manila underground hip-hop scene to win the 2006 and 2008 World Hip-Hop Dance Championships. G Force recently won the 2010 Dangal Ng Bayan Awardee People’s Choice for Entertainment Best Performing Dance Group. With this much talent and skill at his disposal, Song shares it was a breeze to work on the DanceCrave commercial. — GRACE MUGAS