AN interesting mix of provocative colegialas, prisoners in orange jumpsuits, girls wearing gas masks and pole-dancing high school boys competed for the top prize at the Skechers Streetdance Battle Nov. 22 at Araneta Coliseum.

Now on its fourth year, the competition drew teens from over 60 high schools and colleges, in search of the best student dance group. Twelve high school and 13 college dance groups made it to the finals, each group doing high-energy performance before a crowd of about 15,000.

The groups tried to outdo each other, using gimmicks that were both impressive and quirky?Our Lady of Fatima University students wore orange prison uniforms (inspired by the Cebu inmates who became a YouTube sensation?), or the girls of Colegio de Santa Rosa donned gas masks/goggles.

Provocative dance moves kept the audience glued to the five-hour show. While some were intentionally funny (the pole-dancing boy from Xavier?s Dance X stole the show), others looked out of place in a street dance competition. While St. Scholastica Manila?s Danz Edge colegialas were definitely an audience favorite with their risqué choreography, their moves seemed more appropriate for bar dancers than college students. They did onstage stripping, splits on plastic chairs, and lots of gyrating?fun to watch, but low on technical points. (Host Mo Twister joked, ?All they have to do is just mess their hair, and I?m happy.?)

While there were no mishaps or bunglings, some performances were boring and repetitive; this, even if the teams were already among the best. However, there were more excellent dance numbers and acrobatic skills than mediocre performances.

While the college groups were generally more polished, their moves in sync and smooth, the high school teens performed better primarily because of higher energy level?you could tell that they put in more time and dedication into their numbers. It paid off: they scored higher than the college groups. Plus, they also brought more supporters. (A gangly high school boy seated next to me cheered for every all-girl team; he must?ve had a lot of girlfriends.)

In the junior division, Miriam College High School?s Sayawatha Dance Troupe clinched the top spot, and the P100,000 prize. Its performance, touted as one of the best the group has done in years, was both humorous and graceful. Second place was School of the Holy Spirit Quezon City, third was Colegio de Santa Rosa.

In the college division, De La Salle University bagged the trophy?a first in the competition?s history?breaking the winning streak of the University of the Philippines Diliman. The UP Streetdance chose not to join, which must have led the other college teams to give a collective sigh of relief. DLSU?s Street La Salle Dance Company (SLDC) also won P100,000, followed by the Technological Institute of the Philippines in second place, and Ateneo?s Company of Ateneo Dancers (CADS) in third.

The Philippine All Stars and UP Streetdance performed. The hosts also pitted various teams against each other in a freestyle dance-off, where Xavier won in the high school division, and TIP in college.

Skechers gave the Skechers Street Style awards to Emilio Aguinaldo College?s Christian Adrales and La Consolacion?s Michelle Renato.

Movies often portray streetdance teams as aggressive groups of show-offs who take no prisoners, so to speak. In this case, however, the teams were anything but mean. In the freestyle dance-off, for instance, the De La Salle and Ateneo teams did the unexpected?they danced together. Not that we?d want to see the UAAP basketball players dance together, but they could probably learn a thing or two from the streetdancers.

E-mail the author at biancaconsunji@yahoo.com