Iloilo MB Dance Academy impresses in 2022 Manila Open

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The accomplished and widely-renowned Iloilo MB Dance Academy made its highly-anticipated return to the national stage after reigning supreme during the 2022 Manila Open dance sports championship.

MB Dance Academy’s young and prized dancers dominated in 11 categories and raked a total of three golds, five silver medals, one bronze, and three top-five finishes.

The pair of Leanne Reigh Lanceta and Joemel Magallanes topped the Latin Grade C Couple category for MB Dance Academy’s first gold medal of the prestigious tournament.

For the second event, Lanceta and pair Mary Ysabelle Cartagena dominated the Open Female Duo 1 Latin category while Jayson Gian Cala-or and Magallanes continued the championship streak in the Youth C Male Duo Latin category.

After showing off in the Open Female Duo 1 Latin, Cartagena scored a hat-trick with second-place finishes in the Junior 2 Female ChaChaCha and Junior 2 Female Jive categories while clinching the fifth-place in the Junior C Female category.

Honorable mentions for the star-studded MB dance pool are Jay Alexis Gabrielle Sarate, Zoe Alexandria Lanceta, Anton Kristoff Canto, Alicia Pearl Cala-or, Kisha Aina Canto, and Treastan Tongua.

It was another spectacular finish for head trainer Matthew Cutanco Balbastro and his dancers after putting Iloilo City at the top of dance sports once again amid his hectic schedule.