Faron Mijares shares tips in winning a dance competition

What's Your Flava Champion Faron Mijares (third photo, extreme right) with Free Magallanes, Jun Gatilogo and Mark Espartero. First and second photos show his choreography.

Those interested to go into dancing and eventually compete should be dedicated, willing to give one’s time and full support to the endeavour.
This is the advice of Faron Mirajes, dancer for 11 years and choreographer for 10 years.
“There is no such thing as a perfect dancer. But, you should have the passion and soul for music and dancing if you want to succeed,” he added.
Once a dancer becomes popular, the offers to become a choreographer will eventually come.
However, what makes a choreographer successful is his or her creativity and open-mindedness. “Always strive to be original and be creative. Also, be open-minded and be prepared to learn from your students and other people,” Mijares advised.
Mijares is an expert in Latin American dances like Chacha, Samba, Rumba, Paso Doble and Jive. He also dances and teaches standards like Slow Waltz, Viennese Waltz, Foxtrot, Tango and Quickstep. Ask him to belt out a jazz or folk dance, and he’ll give it to you, too.
His excellence in varied dance styles and discipline have earned him several victories. The recent ones were: grand champion in the 2008 Regional Latin Dance Pro-Am Category, grand champion in the 2008 Third World Dancesports Latin American Category, grand champion in dancesports competition, Latin category hosted by different malls, municipalities and provinces in the region; three-time Achievers Awardee of the University of San Agustin, a consistent champion coach for Latin and Standard categories in the PRISAA dancesports competition, dance instructor and choreographer of Lifts and Bounce Dance Studio in Brunei Darussalam and a dance master of the Dancesports Federation of Western Visayas.
His recent feat was winning What’s Your Flava?, a choreographer’s challenge held at Robinsons Place Iloilo.
“I never expected to win the competition. I made sure my dancers were ready for the battle. I always think positive,” Mijares said.
He gathered his dancers and chose who could perform and deliver his concept. After the dancers have grasped the concept, he polished the moves several times.
“There was never a problem with them. I think we were given enough time to prepare for the contest,” Mijares said when asked about his working relationship with the dancers.
“Every time we have a performance, I always say this to them: Look confident and enjoy the dance,” he said.
What’s Your Flava? was the first ever choreographers’ collaboration of Robinsons Place Iloilo and JPC Productions.* (Marie Katherine Villalon, The News Today, October 20, 2011 issue)