The ‘Chicken Fever’ That Inspired

A fever that spreads nationwide in 5 months obviously attracts much attention. It did for this one.

Only that this kind brought joy and inspiration instead of fear and pain. Bounty Fresh – Chooks To Go’s nationwide Sayaw Fever Chicken Dance competition attracted more than a thousand dance groups from all over the country. Vying for the top prize of One Million Pesos, the top seven group finalists converged for the Grand Finals at The Terraces, Ayala Center, Cebu in a hotly contested dance showdown last April 30, 2011,

The road to the Grand Finals was a grueling but rewarding journey. It starts with the eliminations at the local level, then the regionals prior to reaching the Grand Finals. But there are rewards along the way. The winner in the eliminations gets P10,000. The Regional winner gets P30,000. Then at the Grand Finals, the 2^nd runner up gets P100,000, the 1^st runner up P200,000 and the Champion P1 Million.

Seven kids ages 9 to 13 from Langihan, Butuan City, in Mindanao who call themselves the “Loverkada Kids” emerged the Grand Champions, and brought home the One Million Pesos grand prize.

“Loverkada” brings to mind our common word “barkada”. But these young kids from Butuan put a positive connotation to the sometimes negative implication of the word. And they translated the positive into real, tangible group action – they danced. Employing innate skills perfected with training and discipline, they danced their way to a million pesos.

Their story is an inspiring one. The Loverkada Kids started when Ms. Adelfa Nedia, their trainer, was looking for local kids who can dance for their town fiesta. She selected the children due to their talent regardless of who they are and where they came from.  She trained them and taught them the value of discipline and practicing their skills. The group blossomed and decided to continue with what they do best, dancing. They won in several local competitions, until they heard and found out about “Chooks-to-Go Sayaw Fever One Million Pesos Chicken Dance Showdown”. Upon winning the grand prize, the eldest among them said “Masaya lang po kami, hindi na po maglalabandera yung nanay ko tsaka yung mga nanay nila” (we are happy, my mother will not have to laundry for others anymore, and also their mothers – referring to her group mates).

Ms. Nedia believes that the Loverkada Kids have inspired everyone throughout their journey in the competition. When asked what carried them through she stated, “Faith in God and we must not stop to dream and believe that everything is possible. But we need to work for it, earn it and achieve it. And we must not stop to pursue our dreams and aspirations, as we will continue to dance and dance as we move on with our life and destiny.”

The 1^st Runner Up was won by the group Baguio Metamorphosis. Second Runner Up was the group Exquizyth who hails from General Santos City.

More than just a contest, the Sayaw Fever, has a story that has not been much publicized. Sometime ago, Bounty Fresh received a plea for help from a “blue baby” – Jemuel Namayan. “Blue baby” is the layman’s term for a heart condition that decreases the oxygen intake causing the baby to turn blue. It is fatal if not treated. A heart surgery can correct the condition. Jemuel Namayan’s family has no means to pay for his surgery, and plea for help was brought to the Sayaw Fever organizers.

The Sayaw winner is determined by a 70-30 percentage ratio of voting. The judges’ votes comprised 70% of the winner’s score. The remaining 30% percent is determined from the online and SMS audience votes garnered by the winner. The online and SMS voting system was handled by Synermax.  For every SMS or online vote, a certain revenue is generated.  Synermaxx donated a total of P119,904.00 for Jemuel’s surgery. Donations from the Sayaw audience amounted to P8,255.40. Bounty Fresh added to the amount making a total donation of P150,000.00 for Jemuel.

“Chooks-to-Go Sayaw Fever One Million Peso Chicken Dance Showdown” was the first single-brand initiated dance contest staged in search for the nation’s best chicken dance routine, which was aired on Studio 23 every Sunday. It is their way of saying thanks for making them the leading oven roasted chicken (masarap kahit walang sauce!) in barely two years. Mr. Ronald R. Mascariñas, Bounty Agro Ventures, Inc. President, was grateful for the overwhelming support they received in staging the contest. His parting words were “We are just warming up, we have more in store for the Chooks to Go customers and patrons, watch out for it!”

Sayaw Fever Moves on to the Super Regional Leg

Ms. Adeluisa Camelon joins her students of the FBHS Danz Crew as they accept the Php30,000 cash prize.

The Chooks-to-Go Sayaw Fever escalates to a higher level! The Screenings and Party Eliminations were recently concluded, and March 26 marked the start of the first ever Sayaw Fever Super Regionals featuring the Metro Manila winners and judges such as dance diva Regine Tolentino, Big Pat of the Philippine All-Stars, and Carol Bitanga, Asst. Manager of Chooks-to-Go Metro Manila operations.

The day started with a motorcade around the Taguig Area to round up the crowd. Supporters and viewers trooped to the Market! Market! Activity Center as early as 1 PM to witness who can stage the best chicken dance among the Metro Manila contestants.

A total of 7 groups made it to the GMA Super Regionals. Each group showcased a different dance genre and merged it with kwela and unique chicken moves to come up with the perfect choreography that would pass the judges’ and audience’s standards.

The judges critiqued the integration of unique chicken steps in the choreography, the dancers’ technique and execution with a portion of the scores coming from text and online votes.

At the end of the event, only one emerged as the winner: the FBHS Danz Crew! These students from Fort Bonifacio High School won Php30,000, and they will represent Metro Manila in the Grand Finals in Ayala Center Cebu on April 30.

Other Super Regionals will take place in the next couple of weeks, all groups vying for their chance to win the P1 Million grand prize. Visit the website to check out the venue, or watch Chooks-to-Go Sayaw Fever on Studio 23 every Sunday to catch the latest on the Philippines Hottest Dance Craze.

Click here to view the Super Regionals and Grand Final schedules.

Sayaw Fever Gains Momentum

Chooks-To-Go Sayaw Fever is spreading like an epidemic and is gaining momentum as it reached Southern Tagalog last Sunday, March 6. With only a few more regions to conquer, competition is getting intense as teams scramble to practice and get votes in. The Super Regionals which will feature the best of the best will start in just few more weeks, leading up to the Grand Finals in Cebu on April 30.

Crowd participation was remarkable, as participants from both areas battled each other, flapping their arms as their families, friends and neighbors cheered them on. The Sayaw Fever has transformed into something people look forward to as it promotes hard work while giving each region entertainment, something new to support, talk about, and be proud of.

The participants even made a joint performance to entertain the crowd before the actual contest started. This was followed up by games like “Napakapakapakasarap” where contestants have to repeat “Napakapakapakasarap” for as many times as they can without fumbling.

The runner-ups who were just a bit short from being Pachook na Pachook got a consolation prize of P5,000. The winners impressed and gave the judges something to rave about after the program. They won P10,000 which comes with an all expense paid trip to the Super Regional elimination (the last step before the grand finals) this April 16 at SM Lipa.

Don’t forget to catch the next Sayaw Fever Party Eliminations in the next few weeks leading up to the Super Regionals and then the Grand Finals!

Sayaw Fever now on TV!

Chooks-to-Go, the country’s leading innovator of your favorite oven roasted chicken presents: Sayaw Fever, the P1 Million Chicken Dance Showdown, now on TV!

Tune in and watch as dance crews all over the Philippines battle it out as the Sayaw Fever sweeps the nation. Join hosts Marc Logan (TV reporter/personality) and Saicy Aguila (former reality show contestant and noon time show dancer) as they take you through the journey of our competitors and the competition. Also don’t miss our Grand Finals host, Jhong Hilario (popular dancer/actor), in the culmination of the ultimate Chicken Dance Showdown! Tune in to each episode to see coverage of several Sayaw Fever events, event highlights and winners. Get regular updates and follow your local favorites as they battle their way to the Finals in Cebu City!

Catch the fever on Studio 23 every Sunday, starting on Feb. 27 until May. 22. Pilot episode airs 12:00pm – 12:30pm. Click here for complete airing list.

For interested Sayaw Fever participants, Click here to view the latest screening schedules. Make your way to the nearest venue to get a chance to be featured on TV, and to win the one million peso grand prize!

Sayaw Fever Press Conference!

Chooks-To-Go, famous for its roasted Bounty Fresh chicken, launches the “Chooks-To-Go Sayaw Fever.” With P1-million prize for the grand winner, participants should do their own dance interpretation of the Chooks-To-Go jingle. In photo are Patrick Filamor, Marketing Assistant of Bounty Agro Ventures, Inc.; Aitinclie Elhasafy, corporate Affairs Consultant; Jhong Hilario, popular dancer-actor and endorser of Chooks-To-Go; Milady Glo Resurreccion, Assistant Brand Manager of Chooks-To-Go; and Dondi Alentajan, Group Marketing Head.

Jhong Hilario will be the host of the Chooks-to-Go Sayaw Fever at Cebu on February. He is a group member of the original cast of the 90′s Pinoy Dance group the “Street Boys” . Hilario also made his mark on the the big screen by playing the role of “Butong” one of the supporting actors in the movie “Muro-Ami”(Wherein he has won Best Supporting Actor in the Star Awards).  he also became a guest judge for ABS-CBN’s Showtime where he was given the name “Sample King”. Currently Jhong is portraying the role of Gary David in the remake of ABS-CBN 90′s telenovela “Mara Clara”.

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