Shall We Dance: The Celebrity Dance Challenge, hosted by dance goddess Lucy Torres-Gomez with co-host
Dominic Ochoa and Arnelli Ignacio, is a totally exciting and first-of-its-kind entertainment program on Philippine
TV. It pairs a celebrity with a professional dance partner as they train and compete in front of a studio audience
in a televised ballroom dancing competition. The competing pairs are judged by a panel of experts and the studio audience, with one couple being eliminated each week.

The formidable panel of judges consists of: Ednah Ledesma, Grand Prize winner in the Latin Dance Senior Category of the Latin Blackpool Ballroom Dancing Competition; stage director/actor Audie Gemora and dancer/host Regine Tolentino. Renowned choreographer Douglas Nierras also serves as a judge in the show once in a while. At the end of each performance, the judges give each couple a score. The couple with the lowest score will be eliminated. The contest, however, comes up with new rules for elimination every now and then in its aim to keep the competitors on their toes.

Now on its seventh season, this reality dance competition never fails to come up with new and exciting
gimmicks every week and every season. The audience always has something to look forward to every Sunday
– what dances the celebrities will perform next, who will stand out on the dance floor and who will be eliminated
next. Moreover, the TV viewers are treated to seeing the stars in a different light and in their most candid selves, especially when trying to learn the intricate dance steps just to impress the judges and the audience.

The show premiered on Philippine television in November 2005 with four celebrity contestants—actor Gardo
Versoza, Hot Babe JC Parker, boxing champ Onyok Velasco and actress Angelu de Leon—comprising the first
batch. (insert photo of the first batch of season 1) The second batch of contestants a few months later included celebrities Long Mejia, Paolo Paraiso, Maui Taylor and Angelika dela Cruz. It was in this batch that a pair got a
perfect 10 score from a judge (for the very first time) and this was Angelika and her dance partner.

It was also in season 1 where, for the first time on television, a basketball player danced ballroom in the person of Ren-Ren Ritualo. The third batch of season 1 was probably one of the most interesting batches. The show was able to get not only PBA player Ren-Ren Ritualo but other celebrities like Sheryl Cruz, Arnell Ignacio and Juliana Palermo as well to compete against each other.

Season two proved to be as exciting as season one. It was also a season of transformation. Sexy singer/actress Mystica transformed from a singing diva to a serious dance competitor. She was also the first celebrity to get three perfect scores from the
three resident judges.

Another highlight of this season was the transformation of Tirso Cruz III from a dramatic actor to a dance sensation. Tirso won in the grand finals thanks to his dedication and commitment to the show.

Season three featured a mix of personalities on the dance floor. Roderick Paulate was pitted against Tuesday Vargas, Sheree and Emilio Garcia in the grand championship night of Shall We Dance season 3. Roderick Paulate was declared the ultimate winner of this season.

The highlight of season four, in turn, was the grand finale showdown of the five finalists Archie Alemaña,
Alex Crisano, Amy Perez, G Tongi and Carlos Morales. It was truly a celebration of different dances as
these five fierce competitors, who are known in other fields, battled it out on the dance floor.

Season five took a different turn as Shall We Dance finally gave a chance to non-celebrity dancers. The show adopted the tagline: “It’s your time to shine,” emphasizing the amateur dancers’ turn to grab the spotlight. Hundreds auditioned in the reality dance competition hoping to get the rare privilege of being able to dance and compete in the show, much less win in the prestigious ballroom contest. more>>