Taking a break from her busy schedule from her ABS-CBN shows, Filipino-Canadian dancer and actress AC Bonifacio came home to Vancouver to spend the holidays with her whole family. Known for being the first ever grand champion of Filipino TV dance competition Dance Kids along with Lucky Ancheta in 2016, AC is now a mainstay in ABS-CBN’s. variety show ASAP, stints on Showtime, and a regular cast of daytime soap Playhouse. She also records songs with Ivory Records.
Bonifacio also competed on the Kids edition of Philippine TV show Your Face Sounds Familiar (season 1) where she finished third. She also made her acting debut on Wansapanataym Presents The Amazing Ving in which she played “Mika”.
From her busy schedule, AC met with PST for an exclusive interview. She told stories about her hectic schedule in Manila, and how she loves coming back to the cold weather in Vancouver.
“I miss putting layers of clothes on here, kasi in Manila, even though I stay in air-conditioned rooms all the time, when I go out, I just put on more comfortable summer clothes to stay cool,” she adds with her engaging smile.
AC says working and doing her school work can be challenging. She is currently in Grade 11, being home-schooled with Canadian material being sent to her, so that she can finish high school and earn her Dogwood. She says her parents told her to make sure she finishes school because it is very important.
“They remind me that showbiz is not permanent, and that I need something to fall back on when the time comes that I have to go back to life in Canada.” For AC, this means pursuing a degree in law, although she admits, she wanted to do nursing first because her parents and almost everyone in her family, are nurses.
For now, she is enjoying working with ABS-CBN.
“We’re like a big family there, and all those I have worked with are really good people,” she says. Among those she works with, she credits Tito Gary Valenciano the most.
“He is very nice, and always gives me advice. Same thing with his wife Tita Angelie.”
AC also enjoys working with Sarah Geronimo, and fellow cast members Angelica Panganiban and Smokey Manaloto on Playhouse.
“Both of them are very funny, and even if our taping takes hours, you won’t notice the time go by.”
In 2017, Bonifacio participated as one of the performer contestant on ABS-CBN’s singing and impersonation competition Your Face Sounds Familiar: Kids, the dancer won two times in the competition, for her impersonations of RNB singer Usher and pop singer Janet Jackson. She chose her idol Sarah Geronimo to emulate on the show’s grand showdown and performed Sarah Geronimo’s 2014 hit Kilometro.
She is now currently working and uploading on her YouTube channel “Andree Bonifacio” every Wednesday at 7pm. She has over 500,000 subscribers and has received her Silver Play Button.
Bonifacio was born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia and she is in the Hall of Fame in Los Angeles and in Portland’s International Dance Challenge.
