The Business and Management Cluster (BM) Vipers topped the podium in this year’s Sayawtenista with their dance rendition of the EDSA Revolution, marking their first gold finish in 9 years.

Sayawtenista 2024 centers on the ‘Key Events in Philippine History,’ where each cluster orchestrated meaningful routines, emphasizing the significance of each event among Filipinos.

B&M Vipers’ Sayawtenista participant, Mj Delos Santos, conveyed the message behind their groundbreaking performance.

“We chose this theme because the intention of our message was to let the people remember what happened during the EDSA Revolution and how promising it is to remind us that we deserve a promising leader. Never again, Never forget.”

Delos Santos also shared that delivering the appropriate emotions was one of the  difficulties they encountered during their rehearsals as they prepared for their presentation.

“My challenges were fitting my shoes in the people’s place during that era and showing their feelings through my body language in dancing,” Delos Santos added.

BM’s Sayawtenista choreographer, Andrei Amper, shared his experience in choreographing an important milestone in Philippine history and admitted that he was unaware of the full context of the EDSA Revolution.

“When we dwelled into the EDSA Revolution, we did a lot of things. With the recent anniversary of the Martial Law, I asked my team to attend the mass and go to the event, here, in Roxas, where there are actual martial law victims. After hearing their stories, it made my team lock in and feel our dance to the heart,” Amper said.

Amper mentioned that he believed their unique storytelling was what set them apart from the other clusters’ performance.

“Based on what I heard from the people’s comments after our performance, I think we excelled in storytelling…Because a lot of people said that they understood what we were trying to say, that we were really comprehensive with what happened on stage. They said they understood the storyline of what happened on stage, from start to finish.”

The Accountancy Cluster (ACC) Griffins placed second with their reenactment of the “Execution of Rizal,” while the Social Sciences (SS) Dragons came third after depicting the fight for independence and justice against Spain in “Sigaw sa Pugad Lawin.” 

The Sayawtenista 2024 was held in Martin Hall last September 28.