Fil-American Logan Ellana Edra said her performances will be more meaningful this time around.
The 19-year-old Edra, the 2021 Red Bull BC One Women World Breakdancing champion, said this after she was introduced as the newest member of the national team, with Filipino partner Ilyvm “Dudut” Gabriel.
“And now I get to do it with more meaning and purpose. Because this is my way of paying homage to my roots,” said Edra, who lives in South Florida and traces her Filipino roots to Zambales and Pangasinan.
Edra, who was formally presented as a member of Team Philippines, during the Urban Arts Festival by Philippine Dance Sports Federation president Becky Garcia at the Ayala Circuit Mall in Makati, went back to the United States on Sunday with her manager-coach Lee Razalan.
She was in Manila for two weeks to finalize her process of acquiring a Filipino passport.
Breakdancing, also known as breaking, will be played as an event under dancesport in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games. Garcia said the they hope to have Edra around to join the coming Olympic qualifiers as well.
B-boying or b-girling is an athletic style of street dance originating from the African American communities in the United States, consisting of four kinds of movement, toprock, downrock, power moves and freezes.
Organizers of the Cambodia SEA Games have removed the latin and the standard events of dancesport in their calendar of events, compelling the PDSF to seek out Edra, who has been signed up recently as the youngest dancer of Red Bull.
“She is our future Olympian and gold medallist in Paris 2024. I am very happy to have Logan here with us,” said Garcia, who sought the help of Senator Francis Tolentino for Edra to be able to get her Filipino passport.
The decision to represent the Philippines took some time and was finalized after Edra won the 2021 World Championships and some soul searching.
“I’m proud to represent the Philippines, and I’ve always wanted to represent because my blood is Filipino. I have been battling for 10 years at a young age around the world,” added Edra.
She came to the country after competing in the World Breakdancing Olympic ranking event on Feb. 25 in Fukuoka, Japan.
While Manila, she went into a faceoff with Gabriel during the festival, with the coaches believing that Edra can show how tough and good she can be around male performers.