Comprising the Knight Movers are students of the Gems International School Sarah Kristelle Al-Mohammad, 14, John Gerard Raz, 15, Joshua Giovanni Raz, 13, and David Elroi Macaraeg, 16, as well as Donna Elizabeth Macaraeg, 13, who goes to the Pearl of the Orient International School in Jeddah. Also part of the group is Daniel Erhard Macaraeg, 19. All of them injected youthful energy into the group, whose livewire performance held the Dubai crowd in thrall and drew perfect scores from the judges.
The Knight Movers shared the distinction with Dubai's Watawat (Flag) Dance Crew, besting two other finalists: Abu Dhabi's Artistic Revolutionaries and the Filipino Dance Sport & Social Club, also from Dubai. A total of nine groups from various Mideast countries vied for a spot in the finals.
"Wow, you were really great. (You really had my vote.) … Keep up the good work and study well!" said a certain Chris of another crew called On D' Line, in comments posted on the YouTube page where the group's audition video was posted.
Before the big night, the young performers' parents assured their fans that "the kids will surely prepare for it. Balancing studies and dancing is a bit hard, but they really love and enjoy what they are doing and as parents we are here to support them."
The winners received AED10,000 each, trophies and gift tokens. Knight Movers received ample support from Sky Freight Forwarders, PetroRabigh and Filipino Artist Migrant Entrepreneurs, all of which made it possible for the group to fly to Dubai and join the competition.
The show, produced by the ABS-CBN station's The Filipino Channel (TFC), is the Middle East edition of a top-rated late morning/noontime variety show called "Showtime" in the Philippines.
In a pre-show press conference on Dec. 1, Showtime hosts said that they were very happy to perform before fellow Filipinos in the UAE. Celebrities Anne Curtis, Vice Ganda, Vhong Navarro, Billy Crawford, Karylle, Kuya Kim Atienza, Jugs Jugueta, Teddy Corpuz and Jon Avila graced the event.