[COLUMN] Billy Crawford is grand champion of ‘Danse avec les stars’

Billy Joe Ledesma Crawford and partner Fauve Hautot hold mirror ball trophies after winning the “Danse avec les stars” final on Friday, November 11.Photo from Instagram/@billycrawford

FILIPINO dancer, singer, actor and TV host Billy Crawford was adjudged the season 12 champion of the French edition of “Dancing with The Stars” on Friday, November 11, along with dancing partner Fauve Hautot. The competition’s first episode was shown on September 9.

The multi-hyphen talent expressed his joy and thanks in an Instagram post a few days later.

“It’s been a few days since we won @dals_tf1but from the bottom of my heart thank you again @fauvehautot for your patience and your amazing talent. I am forever grateful to have worked with someone as dope as you! To all my co contestants since day 1 I love you guys and thank you for always being there to make things smoother than usual. To production, Eloïse our journalist who never stops getting info straight from our hearts. Sir Fred, and Deborah merci pour the confidence and trust you give us every week,” Crawford’s post stated.

“And thank you also for all the advice, @ hakimghorab, @emmanuelleberne @pierresuppa you guys are super duper awesome and we couldn’t have done better if it wasn’t for you guys. Karim, the best steady cam handler in the world! @pixelinephoto thanks you for capturing the greatest moments on and off stage. Merci pour tout. To all the pro dancers who helped each other to give an amazing show to the French public, salut and respect to all of you! The judges, thanks for encouraging us that we could always be better no matter what the circumstances are! To all the public who voted for me and Fauve in the end, THANK YOU!,” he added in the post.

The mirror ball trophy winner also gave shout-outs to his wife, the Philippines and God in his post.

“My wife @coleen I love you, my family, never could’ve done it with out you guys sacrificing being here. Lord God, You are absolutely an amazing God! To my country [Philippine flag] who tries to follow updates on what’s going on even if it’s super early in the am. Thank you all for this experience as it will be forever imprinted in my heart. In the end, Hard work really does pay off! I will miss ALL of you tremendously. With all the love in the world, before the trophy, I have already won cause of the relationships we have built! Till next time, A TRES BIENTOUT! [red heart emoji] [laughing emoji] [crying emoji] [hugging emoji],” Crawford further stated.

Billy has been posting updates on his Instagram about his participation in the competition. This is the third year in a row that Fauve, Billy’s professional dance teammate, has partnered with the eventual champion in the competition. The win tied her with Denitsa Ikonomova with the most professional wins in “Danse avec les stars.” (Note: Ikonomova also won a special episode with partner Loic Nottet in 2017; the episode’s contestants were previous participants from five different seasons of the show.)

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National Artist Nora Aunor portrays a different kind of character from her usual roles in the film “Kontrabida” (The Villain).
PEP.ph fiile photo

Kontrabida” (The Villain), a film helmed by Adolf Alix Jr. and who stars multi-awarded actresses National Artist Nora Aunor and Jaclyn Jose, was honored with the Network for the Promotion of Asia Pacific Cinema (NETPAC) prize, along with Iranian film “Bone Marrow,” at the 6th Hanoi International Film Festival on Saturday, November 12.

The director was informed by the festival committee of his film’s triumph. “Kontrabida” was shot during the height of the pandemic and has yet to be shown in the Philippines.

According to Alix, news of the film’s win has reached Aunor, who expressed her elation at the win.

“She is very happy with the news. She is thankful to the jury and is excited for her fans to see the film,” Adolf told PEP.ph in an interview.

From left: Film director Adolf Alix Jr., National Artist Nora Aunor and multi-awarded actress Jaclyn Jose. Aunor and Jose star in the Alix-helmed “Kontrabida” (The Villain) where Jaclyn plays an avid fan of Anita Rosales, the character essayed by Aunor.PEP.ph fiile photo

Alix revealed that it will be a different Aunor that people will see in the film as she portrays the character of Anita Rosales.

“Since Ate Guy plays an actress from the heydays of cinema who has been recognized for her excellence in essaying contravida characters, this is also a role where I think Ate Guy excels best – quiet yet penetrating characters,” Alix said.

“The persona of an artist on and off-cam and how she faces the life of an artist and where her character will go to is something that people will surely look out for,” he continued. “From start to finish, we wll follow the character’s life and we will see her nuances. As time goes on, Ate Guy’s instinct as an actress only gets better.”

While Alix said that the film is part of a continuing series exploring the persona of an actress, he added, “Plus working with Ate Guy is always a learning experience. I love collaborating with her.”

Adolf revealed in the interview that everyone involved in the project are happy that they were able to complete make this film, and should become a treasured memory.

“We did the film at the height of the pandemic with all the restrictions, but because of our dedicated team, we were able to pull it off. So this small victory is for them. A good memory to look back [on] those during that certain times, we were able to do something special,” he said.

 

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