DUO. New wave superstars of Bachata, Monika and Viktor are taking the global Bachata scene by storm. These half-American, half-Russian pair from Japan is redefining Bachata with their fresh energy and unstoppable charisma bringing at the Cebu SBKZ International festival for the second time.
SQUAD. A fun shoot featuring Cebu Salsa Club's Cebu SBKZ International Festival founders Jilly Enriquez, John Monteith, Kevin Sato and Barbie Alonso together with the local and international artists in a group photo right after their Performance Night.
Several years in the Lifestyle section and I have managed to avoid one thing consistently: dance. I have written about it, published photos, sat through performances where everyone seemed to understand exactly what their bodies were supposed to do. Part of it is simple: I could not dance. Or maybe I have just convinced myself of that over time. I tend to overthink movement. If my left foot is off, I start correcting with my hands, my posture, my timing until everything feels mechanical. Somewhere between trying to follow the rhythm and trying not to look awkward, I end up doing neither. So I stay where I am comfortable. I observe. I write.
That was my mindset when I sat down with Victor and Monika during the 2026 Cebu SBKZ Festival. Victor's path into dance was not something you would expect. He spent 16 years as a baseball pitcher in Japan, a sport built on structure and repetition. An elbow injury forced him to stop, and what followed was not a clear next step, but curiosity. "I did not know how to move my body," he said. "But it was fun. It felt like freedom." He came across dance, tried it without any background, and stayed because he enjoyed it. Four years later, he is performing and competing internationally. For him, the appeal was immediate and instinctive. "When I am dancing, I do not feel stressed," he said. "It is just happy."
Monika's experience is almost the opposite. She grew up around dance, with both parents working as instructors and performers. Movement was already part of her daily life, something she developed over time before focusing on salsa and bachata. "I started when I was three," she said. "It was always around me." Despite those different starting points, they both spoke about dance in similar terms. For them, it comes down to connection. In Japan, as they explained it, physical interaction is more reserved. People keep their distance, and even small gestures like touch or shared movement are not always part of everyday life. Dance introduces something outside of that norm. "At first, it feels strange," Monika said. "But then people get used to it." It requires coordination with another person, a shared awareness of timing and space. Over time, that unfamiliarity gives way to something more natural.
Victor described it simply: "Dancing makes me feel at peace." There is no need to ask where someone is from or what language they speak. You move, the other person responds, and that interaction becomes enough. "It is like communication," he added. "Even if we do not speak, we understand." Listening to them, it was difficult not to reflect on my own distance from it. For years, I have stayed on the sidelines, assuming that dance is something other people are naturally better at. But hearing someone who started late, with no background, talk about finding his place in it makes that assumption feel less fixed. Maybe the issue is not ability as much as hesitation. It is easier to stay where you are comfortable than to risk getting something wrong in public. But that also means never finding out what happens if you try.
I am not about to sign up for classes just yet, but the idea no longer feels as far removed as it once did. The shift in venue for this year's Cebu SBKZ Festival makes that even more apparent. After several editions held in Mactan, the event moved into the city, with Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino hosting its sixth run. What used to feel like something you had to plan a trip around now feels closer, more accessible, and easier to step into. And maybe that is part of it. Sometimes, understanding something new does not start with getting it right. It starts with getting a little closer.
