How dance and an open mind influenced Dimples’ ‘kontrabida’ edge

Dimples Romana

“A kontrabida moves with sensuality, and sadly, I didn’t have that,” said Dimples Romana on which part about playing Daniela Mondragon, her iconic character in the defunct series “Kadenang Ginto,” did she struggle the most.

“When I reviewed my performance, I noticed that I was acting only from my shoulders going up. I realized that I had to learn how to move like a kontrabida. This was why I enrolled in dance lessons [under G-Force],” she explained.

“I’ve seen how sexy the G-Force dancers move; so I called up Teacher Georcelle (Dapat-Sy, artistic director). I said I wanted Daniela to move like them,” the actress recalled. “What happened next was actually life-changing. Right after I had my lessons, I shot the memorable walk of Daniela while she was carrying that red luggage—this one eventually became a viral meme.”

Dimples believes that effective actors are those “who are humble enough to accept that they aren’t perfect, and that they’re doing something to improve on their weaknesses. They say that the longer you stay in the business, the more complacent you become. You think you already know so much that you refuse to learn new things. This kind of thinking gave me the courage to try out something new—dancing.”

The actress said she had a love-hate relationship with Daniela. “I was angry for two years (the show ran from Oct. 8, 2018 to Feb. 7, 2020). That’s taking a lot from someone who has always been positive and doesn’t really know how to get angry.”

Dimples admitted to always being overly critical of herself. “I try not to watch my work as much as possible. I feel like I’m stabbing myself every time I see myself acting, especially when I played Daniela,” she confessed. “I would only look at the TV monitor to review a particular scene if I felt I needed a retake or if my director said I had to improve on it.”According to Dimples, she is also well aware of what her strengths are as an actress. “That’s why I don’t get offended easily when people criticize my work,” she pointed out. “My husband is one of my fiercest critics. He once watched one particular movie of mine, and when he was done watching, he told me: ‘Your acting there was so stupid that you shouldn’t have asked to be compensated for it.’ That’s my husband for you! Criticisms are OK. They test your character and make you stronger.” —Marinel Cruz INQ