Young hunk baffled by his own show

ENRIQUE Gil

Enrique Gil’s holding a dance concert at the Big Dome? The young actor was just as surprised as many observers. Only a few months after releasing his debut album, “King of the Gil” (Star Records), Enrique found himself headlining a big event in one of the country’s biggest performing venues.

The Kapamilya hunk has been thrilling fans with his sexy dancing, but are the come-hither moves enough to fill Smart Araneta Coliseum on Nov. 29?

His goal

“Bahala na lang,” Enrique told a group of reporters recently. “My goal is just to make people happy.” But he’s giving it his all, he promised, “even if I don’t get a packed hall. I’ll make sure  the fans get their money’s worth. This is my way of saying thank you.”

Asked why he thought his home network decided to produce a concert for him, Enrique said the bosses probably saw the impact of his “Dougie” and “Gentleman” dance steps on fans. “Maybe they want someone my age who can dance like Gary Valenciano,” he said. “So, why not?”

Something new

Enrique, who did the movie “She’s the One” and the drama series “Muling Buksan ang Puso” this year, said it was about time he did something new, “explore everything, aside from acting.”

As a child, Enrique, now 21, dreamt of becoming a basketball player or a marine biologist. Dancing, he said, didn’t interest him… until he was launched in 2008 as a member of Star Magic Batch 16 and discovered that he had the moves.

He became part of the dance group Gigger Boys, which performed in the noontime variety show “ASAP.” He couldn’t sing, so he had to learn how to dance. “Performing in the show was like a workshop for me. And soon I thought, ‘Ayos ‘to.’ ”

His concert, also titled “King of the Gil,” will have 16 dance numbers, Enrique said, plus a few songs. “It is demanding, physically, so I have to prepare my body, boost my stamina,” he said. “I’m doing intense training; my energy has to fill the Big Dome. There are so many steps to memorize!”

As for his sexy dancing, Enrique said he doesn’t deliberately try to be seductive, “I just enjoy myself.” Was he comfortable being tagged as a sex symbol? “I don’t mind, as long as fans enjoy watching me.”

Enrique brushed off rumors of  a brewing rivalry with Daniel Padilla, whom he worked with in the drama series “Princess and I.” “I dance, he rocks,” he pointed out. “We can do nothing about the intrigues; we’re used to them.”