A well-choreographed Barbie dance and spoken word poetry were among the talents that candidates of the Binibining Pilipinas showcased on stage during the talent competition.
Forty candidates competed at the Binibining Pilipinas Talent Competition 2022 held at the New Frontier Theater on Thursday afternoon, June 24.
Here are four of the most-talked about performances of on that day:
Dance number to the ‘Barbie’ song
Candidate 40 Roberta Tamondong of San Pablo, Laguna performed a well-choreographed dance number to the 1997 iconic song “Barbie Girl” by Aqua.
Beauty camp Aces & Queens posted a video clip of Roberta’s two-minute performance on Facebook.
“Binibini 40 Roberta Tamondong of San Pablo, Laguna performed a beautifully choreographed dance number ‘Barbie Girl’. As the last Binibini to perform it was also among the most applauded,” the post reads.
Roberta also posted a video of her dance number on her Facebook page. She said that it was inspired by the Barbie dolls she used to have as a child.
“This dance number is inspired by my childhood, remembering my past self and having a Barbie doll as a gift during my birthdays or Christmas,” Roberta said.
“Dancing with this music since I was a little girl a Barbie played a huge role in my childhood and I’m forever going to cherish this experience,” she added.
‘Halimaw’ spoken word poetry
Candidate 33 Mary Justinne Gavino Punsalang of Cavite, also a reporter of TV5, showcased the unique art of spoken word poetry to the viewers and judges at the theater.
A video of her emotional presentation was uploaded on the page of Ampalaya Monologues, a collection of stories told via different art forms.
“’Walang ibang bersyon ang katotohanan!’ Our very own Mary Justinne Gavino Punsalang performing spoken word poetry on the Binibining Pilipinas stage,” the post reads.
The piece Justinne performed was titled “Halimaw” by spoken word artist and writer Raymart Avellaneda.
She was mentioned by another spoken word artist named Mark Ghosn.
In a separate post on June 24, Justinne shared that she was originally going to perform another piece titled “Violet ang Color ng Pag-ibig.”
This work can be found on the Ampalaya Monologues book by Ghosn.
She soon changed her mind about her decision due to “recent events.”
“I wanted to marry my advocacy of fighting mis- and disinformation and my talent as a monologuist. However, I am no poet. So, I first tapped my mentor since 2017, Kuya Mark Ghosn if he could write me a monologue,” Justinne said.
“He has a lot on his plate, so, he referred me to one of B/tter Poetry’s amazing talents, Raymart Avellaneda, who graciously accepted the challenge, all fired up after waiting in line for hours to vote on the election day,” she added.
Justinne also expressed how much she missed live theater performances. She knew she achieved in sending the message she wanted to deliver.
“When I exited the stage, I felt like crying. The audience was the reason why I miss live theater performances so much! Their responses to each line was invigorating. I knew that I touched many hearts last night. I may have woken up some. And that was the goal, message delivered!” she said.
An ode to the LGBT community
Candidate 8 Herlene Nicole Budol, popularly known as “Hipon Girl”, of Angono, Rizal also did a powerful dance number to a song she created titled “Gandang Hipon.”
Herlene uploaded her full performance on her Facebook page.
It had since gathered 616,000 views and 40,000 reactions on the platform.
In her post, Herlene dedicated this performance to the LGBTQ community who had supported her pageant journey from the start.
“Gandang Hipon rocks the Binibining Pilipinas Talent Competition. eto po ay alay ko sa #lgbtqia Community sa inyong walang sawa pagmamahal at Supporta sa BBP journey ko,” Herlene said.
“Happy Pride month sa lahat. Sana naibigan ninyo ang aking talent presentation Yung dalawang araw na preparasyon ko para ako nag Concert show para sa inyo,” she added.
Live painting or sketching
Candidate 23 Nicole Borromeo of Cebu also presented a unique talent of live painting in front of an audience.
Aces & Queens also posted photos of her during her live sketching.
“Binibini 23 Nicole Borromeo, an interior designer from Cebu illustrated her inspiring short piece where she talked about those moments when we walk through the rain and the storm. And she assured us that there will always be someone who will be willing to walk with us until we make it through the rain,” the post reads.