87,700 join bid for new world record in dance exercise

MASS EXERCISE Braving the rain, some 87,700 students join a 30-minute aerobic exercise on the 1.8-kilometer runway of the old airport in Bacolod City in a bid for a world record. (See story in Across the Nation, Page A18.) PHOTO COURTESY OF AEROEYE ASIA, TEN O FIVE PRODUCTIONS AND VISAYAN DAILY STAR

BACOLOD CITY—At least 87,700 students braved the rain at the old Bacolod airport on Sunday morning to exercise in a bid to create a new world record.

The students performed a 30-minute “Jam Step” aerobic-dance exercise on the 1.8-kilometer stretch of the old airport runway about 8:30 a.m. for the record-breaking Jam Step 2-12-12.

The simple aerobic dance was choreographed by the pep squad of the De La Salle University-Bacolod City.

The students were also entertained by event host Epy Quizon, former beauty queen Daisy Reyes and actor Danilo Barrios who added star power to the event.

Jeepney and bus drivers numbering 1,300 joined their children and grandchildren in dancing to Nicki Minaj’s Super Bass for 30 minutes.

Organizers hoped to break the world record on the most number of people who gathered for a dance exercise.

The number exceeded the 47,000 people at the Quirino Grandstand in 2003, which was part of the campaign of the Department of Health for a healthy and active lifestyle.

The Jam Step 2-12-12 will easily break the current record held by China at 13,000 people, said Bacolod Representative Anthony Golez, one of the organizers of the event.