Stony Brook University Filipino student group brings dancers together for Sayaw showcase

A chorus of sneakers landing on a ballroom floor in unison echoed as 40 college students learned a new routine at Stony Brook University on Saturday afternoon.

“Y’all look great. Let’s do it with confidence,” instructor Andrew Solis called out before counting them in to dance to a track by Georgia rapper Gunna.

It was a full circle moment for Solis, 30, of Jersey City, a Stony Brook alumnus who splits his time between teaching dance and working as a registered nurse.

He returned to Stony Brook to lead the class as part of the Philippine United Student Organization’s, or PUSO, 14th annual Sayaw, which brings dance teams together from across the East Coast for workshops, performances and competitions celebrating Filipino culture.

Solis said the chance to audition for PUSO was part of Stony Brook’s appeal when he was applying to colleges, and the club became a way to connect with his heritage and find a creative outlet to express himself through dance.

“A love for music in general is very big in Filipino families,” Solis said in an interview, recalling how influential groups like the Jabbawockeez were when he was growing up.

“They’re not all Filipino, but they're Asian male dancers,” he said. “That was a very big inspiration, because I grew up loving hip-hop, I just didn't know how to express it.”

Sixteen dance troupes, primarily from Long Island, New York City and New Jersey, participated in this year’s Sayaw, according to club president Ellise Ferrer. This year’s theme was based on the Bakunawa, a dragon from Filipino folklore believed to cause eclipses, rain and earthquakes.

The club has about 100 members and organizes an array of cultural events on campus, Ferrer said. But they are most well known for their PUSO Modern dance team. The club also runs a ballroom dancing team and a traditional group that focuses on native Filipino dances like the tinikling, a folk dance using bamboo poles.

When Ferrer, 21, a senior from Queens, joined the group as a freshman, she bonded with peers over shared experiences and values of family and community.

“It was nice seeing a space on campus where my culture was shared and advocated for,” she said. “It’s great representation for us and makes us feel really heard.”

Enrollment data from Stony Brook University did not include a breakdown of the number of Filipino students, but according to 2024 data, Asian students account for 41% of the school’s population.

After working up a sweat at three back-to-back sessions, senior Alexander Tan, 22, planned to rest before the evening performances began.

“It’s good to get your bodies going and dance with everyone and just be part of the community,” Tan said. Though he isn’t Filipino, Tan said the club has been a welcoming space that has helped introduce him to a new culture.

Like most millennials, Solis first began dancing by imitating music videos spanning hip-hop to K-pop, then line dances at family gatherings.

As he has honed his craft, Solis has been proud to represent Filipinos, but said his biggest takeaway has been a deeper respect for Black artists that pioneered the genre.

“It's all rooted in Black history,” he said. “I’ve come to realize that I'm just a guest in the culture.”