Article: Miracle Moves

Published in the Manila Bulletin, i section on July 29, 2006.

photo courtesy of All Stars

Team Allstars came home not too long ago to a crowd of press eager to interview them about their victory in Italy. When Team Captain Kenneth Serrano was asked why they think they won, what did they do, or how did they prepare, he has only one answer every time: “God.” There is a childlike sincerity and a sparkle in Ken’s eyes that makes you understand that this champion means what he says, and when he starts going on about his faith and how it has seen the Allstars through the worst of their struggles, his energy is infectious and his words, anyone can tell, are very real.

“I am the happiest that I’ve ever been in my life,” says the Pampanga-born Filipino-Canadian. For him and his group, miracles seem like an everyday thing, and he says, with something of a consistent look of awe on his face, “We average two to three miracles a day.”

Most of the members of the Allstars were friends or friends of friends, dancers at the top of each of their respective dance groups who decided to take a risk and start completely from scratch with this new group, with no support, no regular payday, and no solid idea of what to do. Ken himself admits that originally he wouldn’t have considered joining any other group apart from the Maneuvers when he first came back to the Philippines. Furthermore, at the time, most of them weren’t really strong believers in a God—yet, as their story goes, faith found them.

“Too many things happen to us to be just coincidence,” Ken recalls. “I admit myself that we weren’t a strong group when we were first formed and when we joined the Nationals. Yes, there were a lot of good dancers but we didn’t have the advantage of being together as a group long enough, so we all danced differently, and we were still getting used to each other.” Ken remembers how he was down to his last P20 on the last day of the National Finals, and how it seemed such a miracle that they won, despite everything. “It was proof for us that all things are possible,” Ken says. “And that he gives us all things in His own time.”

When Ken is asked about their experience in LA, when they won sixth place in the World Hiphop Championships, what he recalls most was the incredible succession of events that got them to LA. “At the time, we were already in debt but still happy that we were able to fly to LA,” Ken recalls. “A lot of miracles had happened to help us get there, but we were worried because we couldn’t afford a place to stay for the two weeks we were supposed to stay there. We were already willing to do street performances to pay for our daily lodging and food there, and yet somehow we weren’t that worried because we really believed God would make a way for us.”

And sure enough, as such miraculous stories go, as soon as they got to LA, the group suddenly received a call from a Fil-Am who had heard of them from a local celebrity. He was none other than record producer of E-Real Records, Floyd Evangelista, who produced 6th Day and now Mike Swift, who is also a friend of Ken’s. “He wanted to host the whole group for the two weeks, because he’d heard of our story,” Ken says, still with a look of amazement as he recounts the incident. “And for two weeks, we were fed, given lodging, and lent cars to get around LA while we were competing. And we didn’t have to worry at all about paying our way through the trip.”

Miracles are an everyday thing for this group. They are use to acts of providence and always remind each other that “God provides,” and “God will always give back to you tenfold,” (even literally on one occasion when Ken had helped an old lady on the street by giving her P200, and was paid back just a few hours later when a fan of the group, who had seen them on television the day before and knowing their story, stopped them in the parking lot of UP and offered them a token of P2000—exactly tenfold) and they have learned to trust God each step of the way.

“Right now,” Ken says with an easy shrug. “We’re only about 70 percent done with our choreography, we’ve only managed to raise four plane tickets out of 15, and we’re set to leave Sunday, July 23.” That was a week ago. They left yesterday (Wednesday) for the World Hip Hop Championships.

Ken recalls how the reporters had grilled them with questions when they came back from Italy, even after he’d made his answers plain and clear that he owed everything to his faith. “I guess they wanted to hear about the technical,” he says. “But life isn’t always about the technical. Most of what we come up with comes in those moments when we ask Him to help us, rather than when we try to squeeze it out ourselves.” And surely enough, miracles have brought the Allstars so far—as they are a stronger group today than ever and they are slowly gaining recognition for it.

“Last year, we all saw the posters of the World HipHop Championships while we were in LA,” Ken recalls. “And we all kept thinking how great it would be if we could be on those posters someday.” And what do you suppose happened now? Click on World Hiphop Championship’s website and see for yourself.