Make Your Mark: Will Soares

Guam - 20-year-old dancer Will Soares is a member of the Hawaii dance crew Hype 5-0. What many people probably don't know is that he is Chamorro and that he left Guam for Hawaii when he was only 4 years old and now after 16 long years, will is back on island preparing a group of dancers.

He said, "I'm here to teach the travel group for Talent Box who are going to compete in Hawaii in a big dance competition in the dance community so they hired me to get them ready - battle ready." If he looks familiar, it's because he along with Hype 5-0 competed in Season 5 of MTV's America's Best Dance Crew. Will says the show was an emotionally charged experience, noting, "Hardest, saddest, most exciting dance experience of my life…it's probably why I get to do all these things like come to Guam and I'm really thankful I got to do that."

Will remembers the moment he fell in love with dance, telling KUAM News, "I wasn't into sports...I mean, I paddled, but that's about it. So one day I just decided I want to dance; luckily the first company I heard about was Hypersquad/Hype 5-0. I called, I took a class and I fell in love."

Six years later, will is still part of Hypersquad, a group he says is like his family. "I know it is really going to sound cheesy but it really is my family and my crew. My family for supporting me in dance and my crew…we have this thing where we like to keep pushing each other. If I need inspiration, I just look around the studio and find it. If there's a 6-year-old or a 20-year-old, they inspire me."

Hype 5-0 is definitely a group that is determined having auditioned twice before finally making the cut. "I wasn't actually part of the original crew because MTV has an age requirement, which was 18, so the first I wasn't a part of because I wasn't of age...we auditioned two times after that and third time is a charm and we finally made it on to the show." He says that the most difficult challenge during the competition was the week that Hype 5-0 was eliminated, in which they had to learn two routines. But he says the one he enjoyed was the Britney Spears Challenge.

"They threw us a curve ball - they wanted us to dance with a pole but they didn't allow us to have a pole. We had to make our own pole. Luckily one of the members was flexible and we finally figured it out."

Of course, being part of ABDC has afforded Will many opportunities, which he does not take for granted. "Everyday I wake up and I'm like, 'I'm so thankful I get to do this!' Before the show you don't get paid to do...you really do it out of your passion to stick with it, and finally I get to travel and get paid. People want to see me dance. Every time I get the chance to travel or dance, I'm thankful for that."

What makes this gig sweeter is that he is going to be here for two months. "On Saturdays I have a master class which anybody can take from 5:30pm-7:30pm so I hope to see everybody there, and I'm also here promoting Talent Box's 2.5 Halloween Masquerade Run, which is on October 22 and I'm really looking forward to that. They wanted to keep me here long enough for the following week, which is their big Halloween festival and I'm excited for that," he said.

Will hopes to get in touch with his roots, visiting family he hasn't met and taking in all the cultural sites and sounds. He says he is really nervous meeting relatives he may not remember, but he is overall excited and anxious. As for what piece of advice he could offer to the aspiring dancers on Guam, he said, "My best advice: just stay passionate. Remember why you are doing it, don't do it for the fame and money but for the love of it, and if you continue to do that truthfully, people will notice, always put your 110 percent."

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