Cebu inmates take to dancing as exercise
07/25/2007 | 09:22 PM
Criminals in the Philippines not only get jailed, they get jiggy with it.
After whistle-blowing, dancing traffic enforcers, more than a thousand inmates from a Cebu prison are getting international attention, particularly in the website YouTube.com.
A 4-minute video of about 1,500 Cebu inmates dancing and prancing to the tune of Michael Jackson’s hit song “Thriller" has been making waves in this popular video sharing website, with one link hitting more than a million viewers as of Wednesday.
As of posting time, the "Thriller" (original upload) in YouTube already has 1,082,128 views and has been chosen as a favorite video 6,663 times.
“Inmates of Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) in Cebu City, Philippines, do a lot more than just languish in a cell," read on the link.
“They have livelihood programs and personal savings accounts, allowing them to earn and save money for legal fees or the families they left behind. Perhaps even more impressive is what they do with the rest of their time: rehearse and perform elaborate parades and dance numbers," it further went.
According to a GMA News report, the inmates were inspired to do a version of the “algorithm march," a dance popularized by an educational Japanese children television show called, “Pythagoras Switch."
Several videos of this Japanese dance have popped out of cyberspace but the Filipino version is uniquely entertaining as orange clad inmates are doing the intricate movements in well-coordinated successions.
The inspiration to adopt this dance craze came after Cebu Provincial Security Consultant Byron Garcia noticed that the inmates were bored at the routine morning exercise that is being implemented throughout the whole prison system.
“I thought to myself, why not come up with something enjoyable?" said Garcia, pointing at the adoption of the algorithm march where 967 inmates participated, forming 66 columns.
At first, the concept didn’t sit well with the inmates.
“First week pagpunta ko sa jail, talagang takot na takot ako. Tinapunan ako ng tsinelas tsaka umiiyak na talaga ako, “ said Vince Rosales, the inmates' choreographer.
However, after several more tries, the inmates seemed to finally get their groove.
In fact, in the coming founding anniversary of the city, the CPDRC will be doing a Michael Jackson performance of “Thriller" to amuse the people.
Even Washington Post picked up on the Cebu inmates’ cyberspace popularity.
“And here we thought this take on the song was as odd as it could get. You've got to admit, the fluorescent orange does add a nice sense of uniformity to the routine," read on its website.
The video also sprouted on several other video sharing websites like poetv.com, where one user commented: “If our prison systems were more like this, we'd have less crime, or at least more entertaining criminals."
CPDRC inmates are also shown prancing to other songs like “Radio Gaga" by British rock band Queen; “Dayang-Dayang" a popular Muslim novelty song; and the “I Will Follow Him" theme from the movie “Sister Act." - Mark J. Ubalde, GMANews.TV
After whistle-blowing, dancing traffic enforcers, more than a thousand inmates from a Cebu prison are getting international attention, particularly in the website YouTube.com.
A 4-minute video of about 1,500 Cebu inmates dancing and prancing to the tune of Michael Jackson’s hit song “Thriller" has been making waves in this popular video sharing website, with one link hitting more than a million viewers as of Wednesday.
As of posting time, the "Thriller" (original upload) in YouTube already has 1,082,128 views and has been chosen as a favorite video 6,663 times.
“Inmates of Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) in Cebu City, Philippines, do a lot more than just languish in a cell," read on the link.
“They have livelihood programs and personal savings accounts, allowing them to earn and save money for legal fees or the families they left behind. Perhaps even more impressive is what they do with the rest of their time: rehearse and perform elaborate parades and dance numbers," it further went.
According to a GMA News report, the inmates were inspired to do a version of the “algorithm march," a dance popularized by an educational Japanese children television show called, “Pythagoras Switch."
Several videos of this Japanese dance have popped out of cyberspace but the Filipino version is uniquely entertaining as orange clad inmates are doing the intricate movements in well-coordinated successions.
The inspiration to adopt this dance craze came after Cebu Provincial Security Consultant Byron Garcia noticed that the inmates were bored at the routine morning exercise that is being implemented throughout the whole prison system.
“I thought to myself, why not come up with something enjoyable?" said Garcia, pointing at the adoption of the algorithm march where 967 inmates participated, forming 66 columns.
At first, the concept didn’t sit well with the inmates.
“First week pagpunta ko sa jail, talagang takot na takot ako. Tinapunan ako ng tsinelas tsaka umiiyak na talaga ako, “ said Vince Rosales, the inmates' choreographer.
However, after several more tries, the inmates seemed to finally get their groove.
In fact, in the coming founding anniversary of the city, the CPDRC will be doing a Michael Jackson performance of “Thriller" to amuse the people.
Even Washington Post picked up on the Cebu inmates’ cyberspace popularity.
“And here we thought this take on the song was as odd as it could get. You've got to admit, the fluorescent orange does add a nice sense of uniformity to the routine," read on its website.
The video also sprouted on several other video sharing websites like poetv.com, where one user commented: “If our prison systems were more like this, we'd have less crime, or at least more entertaining criminals."
CPDRC inmates are also shown prancing to other songs like “Radio Gaga" by British rock band Queen; “Dayang-Dayang" a popular Muslim novelty song; and the “I Will Follow Him" theme from the movie “Sister Act." - Mark J. Ubalde, GMANews.TV
