CHAMPIONS AGAIN: COEd secures 4-peat Contempo win with ‘Markova-inspired’ performance

by John Paul Siapel

As the competitive spirit of every college soared high during the Dance Night of Intramurals 2025, the College of Education (COEd) was crowned champion in the Modern Contemporary Dance Competition for the fourth time, capturing the story of comfort gays portrayed in the movie Markova, which served as a continuation of last year’s festive Santacruzan theme.

Markova: Comfort Gays is a Filipino biographical drama film made in 2000 by director Gil Portes that narrates the life story of Walter Dempster Jr. - a gay Filipino man synonymous with Markova, who was forced into sexual slavery by Japanese soldiers during World War II.

Furthermore, competing colleges were required to anchor their performances in accordance with specific Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) such as SDG 5 for Gender Equality, SDG 10 for Reduced Inequality within and among countries, and SDG 16 addressing Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions.

The specific guidelines became one of the reasons for COEd to choose this particular movie as inspiration, amplifying the voices of LGBTQIA+ individuals being part of the marginalized community.

© Adrian Joven

Representation and execution

In an interview with Bagwis, fourth-year student Jhappa G. Garcia shared the team’s anticipation in showcasing their concept and choreography.

“For this year, we did very hard preparations in terms of the stunts — the head stunts, the throws, scissor splits, and others,” Garcia shared.

Leveling up from the previous year’s performance, the team wanted their members to be prepared for high-difficulty stunts while setting make-up meetings with their coach for additional practice sessions.

“The challenges that we faced actually included one of our co-dancers passing out during practice, and also, we were not able to complete our schedules since many of us are fourth years and still on duty in the city. That’s why it was very hard for us to have a full day to practice together with our coach,” Garcia explained.

In addition, the team encountered challenges in representation and execution of the dance steps, prioritizing the impact of the LGBTQIA+ narrative within MSU–GSC.

“We have all the power to give, and we should have this voice to shout for the things that we need to do,” he expressed.

Pressure was even greater

Furthermore, the pressure was even greater, with the team determined to secure another gold medal this year.

“I, myself, felt the pressure since my seniors before told me that we had no other choice but to be champions,” he said.

Garcia further expressed that the team had “no choice but to win” despite challenges with time constraints.

“Actually, it was very sudden for us because we were aiming for a 12-member dance piece, but we only had 10 members in this year’s competition. Our support system, of course, was the college officers of the College of Education, the CESO, because many of them gave their 100 percent support to the dance, especially this year,” he clarified.

As they aimed for their fourth triumph, Garcia pointed out the significance of unity amidst diversity, always reminding the team to stay humble.

“It is to be humble, that whatever we have achieved right now is just a piece of sand in the ocean,” he shared.

Garcia further emphasized that the COEd team remained focused on working hard, aiming for another golden spot in the succeeding years.

“For the constituents of the Legendary Mentors, this is for them because we did our very best to showcase and represent the college — not just the College of Education, but the whole MSU,” he said.