Mark Villaver came from the hallowed training ground where generations of Kalihi b-boys learned to dance: on the cement outside the Farrington Auditorium.
On Saturday night the Farrington High School ’08 grad will be onstage at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, the latest stop on the hugely successful Taylor Swift tour. He has also performed with pop princess Ariana Grande.
But the leading lady in his most popular dance video is neither blond Taylor nor kittenish Ariana, but his mom, Emilia Villaver Daquioag, the one who taught him to love dance.
The video titled “Deaf Mom Dances With Son” posted on Villaver’s YouTube channel has close to 1.5 million hits and has been re-posted at many other sites.
In the video, Villaver and his mom introduce themselves, and then Dacquioag signs that she loves to dance. “You want to dance?” Mark asks. She signs, “Yes, please,” and they’re off.
What follows is a minute of absolute wonder. It’s all there — the connection between parent and child; the uplifting magic of dance; the delight of watching true talent; and the undeniable fact that mom is flat-out funky.
“Deaf Community People were excited when we uploaded the dancing video to YouTube because they’re happy that I stand for — to the hearing world — ‘Deaf can do everything except hear.’” Daquioag wrote in a message.
Daquioag has an identical twin, Amalia, who is also deaf and who can also tear up the dance floor. The two can feel the bass in the music, and started creating their own dance routines back in the ’80s with choreography inspired by pop-lock and break dance. Both are grandmothers now. Both can still jam. Villaver has one of their videos on his YouTube channel.
The clip with mother and son was shot at 24/7 Danceforce Studios in Kaneohe. After high school Villaver started formal dance training at 24/7 under the legendary Marcelo Pacleb, who has turned out many professional dancers who have been part of the biggest shows in the last decade. “I was inspired by all the amazing dancers that made it from 24/7 Danceforce Studio and one day it just clicked in my head that I wanted to do this professionally,” Villaver said, texting from the tour, which had him in Dallas last week. “I moved up at age of 22. March 2012 got signed with a dance agent and from there my career started.”
In August, Daquioag went to Los Angeles to watch her son perform with Taylor Swift at the Staples Center. He has been with the tour as it has moved east across the country, and has clearly become one of Swift’s favorites. In an online clip, Villaver teaches Swift some Filipino phrases. He starts with “Mabuhay!” and then moves on to “Mahal kita,” “I love you” in Tagalog. Swift looks so eager to learn.
Daquioag says she expects Villaver to come home for a visit next month. It won’t take much to persuade them to shoot another dance video. They both love to dance.
Reach Lee Cataluna at 529-4315 or lcataluna@staradvertiser.com.
