Dance champs wait out pandemic in their kitchen

Ana Nualla (left) and Sean Aranar show off their winning form in last year’s Southeast Asian Games. —NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

Sean Aranar and Ana Nualla set the dance floor on fire during the last Southeast Asian Games. Now they are turning on the heat in the kitchen.

The triple-gold medalists in standard dance made good use of their time in quarantine, starting a food business, whipping up healthy dishes and selling them online.

“I feel I have the same passion in cooking as I have in dancing,” Nualla told Radyo Pilipinas. She said the long break from training allowed them to discover entrepreneurship.

Nualla, a licensed chemist at the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, and Aranar, a business management senior, felt the need to advocate healthy eating as well.

Their online food outfit, aptly named Healthy Appetite, offers dishes with a controlled and calculated calorie count. They also have alternatives to rice and sugar for those looking for “diabetic-friendly” dishes.

Aranar said their home-based food startup allows them to fill the time they would have spent training for major competitions.

The pair, which topped the waltz, tango and Viennese waltz events in last year’s SEA Games, was preparing for the World Games and the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games when the COVID-19 pandemic struck.