Filipino dance crews were triumphant yet again at this year’s World Hip Hop Dance Championship as five groups finished on the podium, including two gold medalists.
All-queer dance group Femme MNL topped the Megacrew Division ahead of fellow Filipino group The Crew, who in 2012 won the Adult Division.
HQ added a second Adult Division championship to its 2023 win and were joined on the podium by bronze medalists Folk Jumpers. The Junior Division meanwhile saw Sayawatha Jr. claiming third.
This took the Philippines’ medal count at the annual tournament to 35, two ahead of the United States and within striking distance of third-ranked New Zealand with 42.
Jacob Jaurigue led the HQ to another gold medal finish with the help of co-director Zion Wuxinyi. The two had danced in the 2023 championship run but this year guided a new batch of nine dancers to the gold.
Philstar.com spoke to Jaurigue before the group flew back to the Philippines, still floating on the dance crew’s monumental win.
The coach said the emotions from the 2023 win were just about the same from three years ago though he pointed out, “Once you get there the first time, it feels like a longer climb the second time around but the experience that we’ve had kind of balances it out for us.”
Jaurigue went on to call this latest run the smoothest of HQ’s three competitive tries to date – the group competed in the Minicrew Division back in 2024 – and credited the preparation each member took.
“We knew what we had to do, we knew the struggles, we knew the challenges, and we were already prepared before we even came across them,” he explained.
Another factor Jaurigue described as “a huge blessing in disguise” was that HQ finished second behind the NDDU Generals during the Philippine leg.
The NDDU Generals and A-Gyalz, another Filipino group in the Adult Division, just missed the final round by mere decimal points while A-Boiz finished fifth.
“We knew not to settle, that we had so much work to do to even have a chance against the four other Philippine teams competing, even more so against the over 60 other teams competing from the other countries,” Jaurigue added.
Speaking about this year’s HQ batch, the coach shared that half the team only started training with the group earlier this year.
That meant the new team didn’t have the connection as the 2023 batch which Jaurigue said was essential when competing in high-level contests.
“It was something that we had to figure out how to build along the way,” he continued. “The strengths of these nine dancers also weren’t the same as our old nine’s strengths so with creating a routine worthy of a world championship, we couldn’t just rely to the same things we’ve been doing in the past.”
Jaurigue acknowledged the many adjustment he, Wuxinyi, and their fellow directors and coaches had to do, figuring out how to bring the best out of the new group but maintain the same identity.
“Bringing in people from different walks of life and trying to create an environment where they could easily perform and execute; through brotherhood, camaraderie, and a lot of good vibes,” the coach said, expressing gratitude for “Key and Peele” sketches.
As for Team Philippines at World Hip Hop Dance Championship 2026, the country’s amazing performance is no longer surprising for Jaurigue and the rest of HQ.
The coach stressed the local hip-hop community’s been exceeding expectations year after year and have the medals to show for it.
“With pioneer teams leading the way, newer generations stepping up, and that’s all through hard work, dedication, creativity, and abundance of talent that the Philippine community has,” he continued. “This community that we have has been under appreciated for far too long and I only hope that soon it gets the spotlight it truly deserves.”
All of HQ are back in the Philippines and Jaurigue joked he wouldn’t be sure what laid ahead for the group for another couple weeks.
He does believe though the dance crew will carry as it’s been operating the past few years, that is, “take any opportunities that come our way, pave our own way, and focus on what’s best for our dancers.”
“Hopefully [we] try for bigger things in the competition scene but after a challenging season we’re just excited to take a break and re-align our goals,” Jaurigue ended