Despite having partnered for the first time only in college, the Business & Management (B&M) Vipers’ Azalea Habana and Phillip Bernaldez won Cha-Cha-Cha, Samba, and Jive to claim the overall championship at the  Galante Dancesports UFest 2026.

Having previous dancesport experience in senior high school,  Habana and  Bernaldez had never danced as partners before the competition, for they had auditioned for different categories then and were paired for the competition after being recommended by their schoolmates.

Habana shared that they had to get used to dancing and practicing to become more comfortable with each other before taking the competition floor in a short period of time. 

“I have a background, naa pud siya’y background, but never mi nag partner until sa college. Sa practice, we try to get to know more about our partner, talk as a friend, as a schoolmate.” 

She added that they had to master their individual steps before putting the entire routine together, ensuring they could keep up with the choreography while staying connected with each other. 

“Naa juy times na dapat isa-isahon nimo siya para ma-master nimo and then kaya nimo isabay ang connection with your partner, the connection with the audience while doing your routine as well.”

Regarding their performance, Habana found Cha-Cha-Cha easier because of its playful style, while Jive was more tiring since it came after their first two performances.

“Based sa performance, I would say na mas dali ang Cha-Cha for me since it’s the first dance and cheeky type lang siya. Naglisod ko sa Jive especially kay it’s the third dance, and it really takes a lot of your energy, and given na nagsayaw na mi sa first two routines,” she said.

While Bernaldez found all three categories difficult due to their distinct strengths and technical footwork, he felt more comfortable with Jive because of its high-energy movements.

“Sanay ko with Jive kay dapat taas ka ug energy unya taas pud ko ug energy. I find every category difficult kay ang technicalities sa tiil kay lisod.”

Habana underscored the greater importance of the connection between dance partners, stressing that it must come first in order to connect with the audience and judges. 

“Before connecting with the audience and judges, connect first with your partner,” she emphasized. 

Following the B&M Vipers are Humanities & Letters (HUMLET) Wolves as first runner-up and the Accountancy (ACC) Griffins x Computer Studies (CS) Chameleons Chimera as second runner-up.

The Galante dance competition took place on October 14 at the 4th Floor Martin Hall, Ateneo de Davao University.