Balanga City grabs Guinness World Record for largest dance fitness class

BALANGA CITY, Bataan – This city grabbed the Guinness World Record for the largest dance fitness class in a single venue, surpassing the record of Mexico City.

Kimberley Dennis, Guinness World Records adjudicator, announced that 16,218 people participated in the dance fitness exercise held at the 4-lane road in this city.

She said the number broke the world record held by Mexico City since 2012 where there were 6,630 participants in the same category.

“Balanga is the first local government unit in Bataan to achieve this feat. This is for all our citizens, especially the youth who will always remember that they were part of this undertaking. It is not only the world record in largest dance fitness class that we attained but we are now also recognized worldwide as tobacco-free generation,” Mayor Joet Garcia said.

Bataan’s component city has aggressively pursued a no-smoking campaign since 2008. The city is a Hall of Fame awardee of the Department of Health (DOH) receiving the Red Orchid award for three consecutive years.

The DOH Red Orchid Award is an annual search for the 100 percent Tobacco-Free Environment covering government offices and hospitals and local government units.

The city is now officially recognized as the first tobacco-free city in the world by the international organization Tobacco Free Generation. “The world will always remember that Balanga was the first city to declare a tobacco-free generation movement,” said Dr. Heng Nung Koong, Tobacco-Free Generation founder from Singapore who personally witnessed the dance fitness class.

He explained that Tobacco Free Generation is a social movement that encourages teens to be the generation that makes the difference, the generation that says no to cigarettes.

A resolution signed by 30,000 residents of Balanga City was presented to Garcia   urging city government to implement programs and ordinances that will push further the implementation of the tobacco-free generation movement. “Those people who were born in the year 2000 onwards promised that they would not smoke in their whole lives”, the mayor said.

The 37-minute non-stop dance exercise was joined by elementary and high school students and city folks from 25 barangays.

Joining the Guinness World Record activity were Gov. Abet Garcia, the city council led by Vice Mayor Noel Valdecanas, Councilor Vianca Venzon-Gozon, Mr. Francis Garcia,  former TESDA director general Joel Villanueva, Atty. Dot Gancayco, Dinalupihan Mayor Gila Garcia, Dr. Susan Pineda Mercado and Dr. Ante Trinidad from the World Health Organization, GMA Unang Hirit dance exercise guru Regine Angeles, and Youtube dancing sensation Balang.