Celebrating 15 years at Cal State Long Beach, the Pilipino American Coalition dance team — simply known as PAC Modern — stayed true to its roots as it began the fall semester, but a new team with the same traditions make PAC Modern more than a dance team.
PAC Modern holds practice twice a week from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m., according to executive coordinator Harmony Cruz. This does not include “Hell Week” when the team practices every day of the week from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. the next day before an upcoming performance.
“It’s hard to push yourself during those hours because everyone is groggy and delirious, but it pushes the team to work together and it brings us even closer,” Cruz said.
PAC Modern has built a reputation with University Police for their late-night practices and loud music.
“We’ve had a few campus police [officers] give us warnings, but it’s never been anything serious,” Cruz said. “We’re actually friends with a few of the police and they know plenty of us really well.”
Most of the dancers have to balance their full-time commitment to the team, school and their jobs, said Cruz, who has danced with the team for four years.
“Being a part of PAC Modern has taught me the value of self-empowerment,” Cruz said. “In the end, you are the only person that can push yourself to be better and that is a value I will carry for the rest of my life.”
PAC Modern is known for its unpredictable, influential, original and innovative hip-hop styles, according to its official website.
“While everything changes around us, PAC Modern tries to stay true to its roots and its hip-hop elements like whacking, popping, breaking and locking,” Cruz said.
PAC Modern is a division from PAC, a student organization whose goals are to nurture increasing knowledge of the Filipino culture at Cal State Long Beach, according to its official website.
Cruz said, PAC Modern started out as a pre-show act for the annual Pilipino Culture Night in 1995. It started with a small group of friends and now, PAC Modern is made up of around 40 people who share the same passion, dancing.
As a team, PAC Modern has competed in numerous events and earned 30 awards and recognitions in 15 years.
However, as a family, it is not about the competition or the awards, Cruz said.
“For the new members of the team, they have an expectation to always win at every single competition,” Cruz said. “As a family, it is our responsibility to remind them that we don’t dance for the trophy. We dance for us and that’s all that matters.”
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