Habang si Gela Atayde ay nagmula sa isang showbiz family — kasama ang ina na si Sylvia Sanchez at ang magkapatid na sina Arjo at Ria Atayde na respetado sa larangan ng pag-arte — determinado siyang gumawa ng sariling landas sa pamamagitan ng pagsunod muna sa kanyang hilig sa sayaw.
Ang kanyang dedikasyon at pagsusumikap ay nagbunga nang ang 21-taong-gulang at ang kanyang dance crew, Legit Status, ay nasungkit ang nangungunang puwesto sa MegaCrew division sa World Hip Hop Dance Championship na ginanap sa Phoenix, Arizona noong nakaraang buwan.
“From all the sleepless training nights, injuries, heartaches, and doubts to the great runs, good laughs, happy tears, great memories, and this championship. This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to go through in my life so far but I am so grateful for how it turned out,” sabi ni Atayde sa isang kumperensya ng media.
“I guess what made us win is our eagerness to get there and yung tiyaga sa lahat ng nilagay namin, the work, the thought process, even in just making the piece and all the drafts kasi maraming revisions hanggang sa huli. araw para sa finals,” patuloy niya.
Bago pumasok sa hip hop, gayunpaman, inihayag ni Atayde na nagkaroon siya ng maikling engkwentro sa ballet.
“Actually when I was way younger, I first started in ballet but funny story is I stopped ballet because I don’t like the outfits and it’s tight fitting. I was so big as a child kaya hindi ko nagustuhan,” she naalala.
Ang kanyang nakatatandang kapatid na si Arjo ang nagpasiklab sa kanyang interes sa pagsasayaw at nanguna sa kanya na mag-explore ng hip hop.
“Nakita ko si Kuya Arjo, who was also under coach Vimi [Rivera] for La Salle Green Hills Airforce. I guess the music and watching him dance, watching them compete, the passion, I just really like the craft in general just by seeing it . From there, I got inspired to try it. I started when I was 12 or 13 years old,” aniya.
