Emosyonal pa si Gela Atayde sa pagkapanalo ng kanyang grupong Legit Status sa ginanap na World Hip Hop Dance Championship sa Phoenix, Arizona noong Agosto 6, 2023 (MegaCrew Division).
Pinakita nga ng Kapamilya young actress sa nasabing kumpetisyon ang kanyang husay sa dancing, creativity and spunk.
Nanatili ang kanilang pangunguna sa buong kumpetisyon at ipinakita nilang walang kaparis na husay sa pagsasayaw at solid teamwork kung saan ay natalo nila ang 54 iba pang dance groups mula sa buong mundo sa kanilang mahusay na performance.
“From all the sleepless training nights, missed events, injuries, failures, heartaches, and doubts to the great runs, good laughs, happy tears, great memories, and this championship. This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to go through in my life so far but I am so grateful for how it turned out,” kumpisal ni Gela sa interview ng entertainment press.
Bukod sa medal na natanggap nila, may cash reward ang Legit Status mula sa organizers ng nasabing dance competition sa Arizona pero hindi naman daw kalakihan ang halaga.
Pagkakalooban din sila ng pagkilala ng NCCA – National Commission for Culture and the Arts – ng special citation.
Bukod sa kanyang show-stopping dance performances, handa na rin siyang gumawa ng marka sa sa pagbibida sa drama series na Senior High.
Ang inaabangang teleserye ng ABS-CBN at Dreamscape ay pinagbibidahan din ng hottest teen stars ngayon: sina Andrea Brillantes, Elijah Canlas, Zaijian Jaranilla, at Xyriel Manabat na nagbigay sa kanyang ng special messages.
Aniya, very close to her personality ang ginagampanan niyang role sa Senior High.
At makakatrabaho niya rito ang mommy niyang si Sylvia Sanchez and her best friend Kyle Echarri. “Being part of a family that is passionate about acting has played a huge role in opening my eyes to the beauty of the craft. I am really grateful to all those who paved the way for me to tick another goal off of my bucket list. Senior High is really gonna be special for me, not only because it’s my first acting gig but also because I’m sharing the camera with my mom,” said Gela.
At kasabay siyempre ng kanyang pagiging full time sa showbiz ang mga kontrobersya na bahagi na ng career ng mga artista. Pero matapang at palaban siya.
“Pinakamatapang, mas palaban that’s what my Mom would say nga po. I think yes, I would say in terms of emotion mas straightforward po ako, I’m more frank and honestly that’s one of my fears po na in showbiz baka po I’m too frank naman po kasi I guess in terms of us siblings (Ria and Arjo) I would say ako po ‘yung pinakaprangka and pinaka-real. Hindi po ako takot magsalita,” pag-amin pa niya sa interview sa isang welcome media conference na inihanda ng kanyang management team, Star Magic.
Kaya naman, pinaaalalahanan daw siya ng kanyang mommy na “She always reminds me po na to tone it down and kasi of course there’s a lot of things, subject to misinterpretation so yes and I understand that very well na po.”
In fact, unbothered din daw siya sa mga intriga sa kanilang pamilya.
Hindi raw siya apektado kahit na noong nag-uumpisa ang relasyon ng kanyang Kuya Arjo Atayde and wife na niya ngayong si Maine Mendoza.
“Especially with I think our whole family - nung nagkaroon ng relationship. But I think for me I remain unbothered with these comments because like what kuya says, dapat ‘di po ako nagpapaapekto. And I think for me, for as long as people don’t know me. They don’t know the story of my family; they don’t really know what’s going on. So kahit ano man po ang sabihin nila kung ano lang po nakikita nila from the outside, they don’t actually know what’s happening so I can’t really... it’s not that I don’t care po eh. I don’t let it affect me,” paliwanag ni Gela na napagsabay ang hip hop training, school at ito ngang acting. At may lovelife pa siya na kasama niya rin sa Legit Status.