By Johnathan Partridge
It was dark in the Psalm Center on Sunday night, but that didn’t stop Billy Rumbewas, 19, from lighting up the show at Limelight in front of hundreds of students and faculty.
Photo courtesy of Jessica Baughman
Some people may have known the freshman as an Indonesian transfer student, but now he will be forever known as the lone 2013 Limelight winner, surpassing the runner-up group from Farrar: Casey Michael’s Good Time Family Dance Group, and the second runner-up group: TBD.
Rumbewas danced solo to a conglomeration of techno, hip hop, and dubstep songs with evident experience as he hit move after intricate move up on stage. Performing alone in front of a Psalm Center packed with people is a daunting task for most people, but not for him.
“Once I got up on stage I believed in myself that I wouldn’t be nervous,” Rumbewas said. “I really got pumped and I was on fire to be on stage.”
But blazing a trail to success in Limelight must have taken days of difficult choreography, right?
“I practiced only three days and didn’t choreograph or do any routines,” Billy said. “What you guys saw last night was actually freestyle.”
The source of Billy’s dancing knowledge and skill comes from four and a half hears of dancing back in Indonesia. It began when a large group asked him to join their dance team, and Rumbewas was happy to oblige. But his journey didn’t end there.
“I was a part of their group for about 1 month,” he said. “Then I formed my own dance group called the Westsiders.”
Not only Corban students and faculty enjoyed Billy’s performance, but also many visitors partaking in the Corban Experience.
“[All the acts] were really well done,” 17-year-old senior at Cascade Christian School Luke Dusenbury said. “I was really surprised by the talent and how much work they put in.”
Another Corban Experience visitor, Kyle Furgson, 16, echoed Dusenbury’s thoughts.
“Everybody was fantastic,” Furgeson said. “But my favorite was definitely Billy. I could have watched him all night.”
Just as much as the crowd enjoyed Rumbewas ‘s performance, he enjoyed the crowd’s reaction and was thankful for how supportive they were.
To cap off the night, Rumbewas received a $500.00 prize as the first place winner, which he is now going to send to his mother back home.