What do you get when five talented girls are banded together and put under the tutelage of one of the most successful star builders in showbiz?
The short and snappy answer? LITZ.
This is the moniker of the glitzy and fierce new pop group that Viva has just unveiled.
LITZ are Heart Ryan Evangelista (19), Ashtine Olviga (22), Bianca Santos (20), Fatima Añonuevo (20) and Yumi Garcia (18).
These girls, whose ages range between 18 to 22 years old, have been training all these months under the creative direction of choreographer-artist Georcelle Dapat-Sy a.k.a Teacher Georcelle.
The head of G-Force has trained and choreographed some of the biggest stars in the biz that includes Sarah Geronimo, Anne Curtis, Vice Ganda, among others.
“The girls have been individually hand-picked by Boss Vic,” Georcelle said. “They asked me to handle them and I said ‘sure!’ (Viva) really gave me the freedom when it comes to grooming them. It’s really up to me. And I have their full support.”
“They want LITZ to have the same treatment, the same care that I give the biggest stars here and why not? I think the girls of LITZ deserve that. We all believe in the talents of Heart, Ashtine, Bianca, Fatima and Yumi,” she added.
The group’s name was coined by Teacher Georcelle according to Ashtine.
“LITZ is an abbreviation of ‘life in the sunshine (stylized with ‘Z’),” Ashtine said in Tagalog. “Teacher said that we light up the place every time when we’re together.”
Ashtine also mentioned that “we’re part of other music acts from before, and then LITZ was formed.”
“The group was formed in 2020, said Bianca. “And then we started training with G-Force this year. Dance and voice training, and speech classes. And it continues to this day and into our foreseeable future.”
“When we first joined LITZ, we didn’t know Teacher Georcelle was the one who’s going to train us, chimed in Fatima, adding “it was overwhelming and nakaka-pressure. But we’re happy she is training us, and now we’re more comfortable with G-Force.”
Fatima also added that since day one, Georcelle and all their trainers welcomed them into the fold.
Yumi was starstruck of the celebrity-choreographer. “I was really nervous when I first saw Teacher Georcelle,” she said in Tagalog. “Somebody I know said she’s strict. But as we went on, I saw that she’s so nice as well as the other trainors. Andyan talaga sila para turuan kami.”
“Yumi is right when she said that Teacher Georcelle is strict, offstage she’s very intimidating, offered Heart. “But that’s only in the exterior. Once you get to know her, she’s very kind. A very understanding person. For us, she’s like a mom.”
For Teacher Georcelle, taking LITZ under her tutelage just makes what she’s “been doing for a long time already,” official.
“I don’t just do choreography, I do more than that. I’m a creative director. I groom talents,” she says with a big smile. “A star builder. That’s what I do now and I enjoy it.”
Which is to say that she sees the deep potential of the girls of LITZ. She saw that in Heart, Bianca, Yumi, Fatima and Ashtine the first time they auditioned for the group. “I saw their excitement and all of them are hungry. That’s the common denominator and I like it,” said Teacher Georcelle.
For their initial foray into the scene, LITZ has recorded and will release the single “Natataranta.”
The track, written by Thyro Alfaro, was originally recorded by James Reid. The new LITZ version turns the popular idol hit into an electropop-tinged dance song of female empowerment.
LITZ will make their debut performance at the upcoming concert streaming event titled “Arrival” along with ALAMAT, Because, Claudia (Barretto) Lyca Gairanod, Cean Jr., Deny, Jehramae, Jona Soquite and Magnus Haven.
The Paolo Valenciano directed-Viva Live event is scheduled to stream via KTX.PH, IWANT TFC and TFC IPTV on Nov 27, Saturday, 8pm.