North Cotabato Street Dancers Proud Competing in Sinulog Festival

Kidapawan City — The North Cotabato delegation to this year’s Sinulog Festival in Cebu City failed to win a single award in its first try but the experience was worth the efforts, officials said Thursday.

Nilo Estorbo, Department of Education coordinator and chief of mission of Alamada National High School, said they failed in the competition but as sportsmanship dictates, competing with the country’s best street dancing groups was already a victory of sort.

“The North Cotabato delegation learned a lot from the experience and it will help them to come up with a better performance next time around,” Estorbo said.

Alamada national high school represented the provinces in the prestigious Sinulog Festival, its first attempt to compete in a national show.

Estorbo lauded the children who he said endured the long hours of travel, practice and showed perseverance.

“The experience gave us the inspiration to even work harder for similar future competitions,” Estorbo said. “It was already an honor joining the competition, in a way we are winners.”

Dubbed as “Grupong Kalivungan,” the Alamada delegates won the first runner up award in last year’s Kalivungan Festival that highlighted the 100th year foundation anniversary of North Cotabato.

On Wednesday afternoon, Gov. Emmylou Mendoza welcomed them at the provincial capitol grounds.

In Cebu, Mendoza treated them in the needed respite after the exhaustive participation to the street dancing.

The group went directly to a beach to “unload” and enjoy the shorelines of Cebu City. (PNA) LGI/NYP/EOF