Sheena wears a LOUIS VUITTON top and earrings. Photographed by Renzo Navarro for the November 2024 Issue of Vogue Philippines
“I feel like my role in the group is to make the others laugh,” shares BINI’s main dancer, Sheena Catacutan. “So as much as possible, I try not to take things too seriously.”
Laughter is the best medicine, and for P-Pop girl group BINI, the cure comes in the lively, life-sized form of their youngest member, Sheena Catacutan.
At their first Vogue Philippines shoot, laughter spills out of the studio in between takes. Despite grappling with jet lag from their recent US-Canada tour, the members trade jokes and erupt into cackles, heads thrown back and mouths wide open, just as they do in their videos online. Among the culprits is Sheena, who is notorious for seemingly never running out of energy.
On set, the 20-year-old is quick to flip the switch into work mode. She sways to the rhythm of 60s music, grooving about the checkered set with ease.
Following her stint in local reality show Pinoy Big Brother, Sheena began training under the Star Hunt Academy at age 15. Today, the Isabela-born performer is BINI’s main dancer and the driving force behind several of their viral moments. Among the long list is the viral dance to their hit single “Pantropiko,” which seemingly ushered the nation into an endless loop of summer for months on end. Coincidentally, this was her first time choreographing for the group, and her TikTok video of the initial draft alone garnered over 35 million views. “At that time, we weren’t used to that much engagement,” she explains in Tagalog. “It was like, oh my gosh, do we deserve this?”
“We just try to be as positive as we can… We want this to stay for the long run.”
Naturally, with popularity comes pressure. But for Sheena and the rest of the eight-member girl group, “we try to convert it into good pressure.” Instead of crumbling under the stress and the multitude of expectations that come with fame, she chooses to convert this into motivation to do better the next time, and the next, and the next. “We just try to be as positive as we can because if not, mabilis kami mauubos [we’d burn out quicker]. We want this to stay for the long run.”
This positivity is not to be mistaken for weakness. To Sheena, turning a sour scenario humorous is only one of the group’s many strengths. “Ako, personally, feeling ko ang role ko sa BINI is magpatawa [I feel like my role in BINI is to make them laugh],” she shares. “I really don’t like negative energy. So as much as possible, I try to make jokes and not to take things too seriously.” Playfully, she adds, “I help the others smile.”
“Wow, smile!” Next to her, co-member Maloi is laughing. She chimes in, “It’s true! She’s my bias. Whatever she does makes me laugh.”
In turn, the seven girls are protective of her, too. It’s the kind you see in movies: When Sheena lost her mom at the height of the pandemic, they grieved along with her. To this day, they refer to Sheena lovingly as “bebe,” in honor of preserving the nickname her mom used to call her before she passed. She reflects, “I’m really grateful that we built a real relationship, and it’s not just work.”
“We’re not doing this for show,” Sheena adds. “It’s really us, and that’s what people love, our true selves.”
To quote her favorite verse in the Bible, Sheena says she “makes every effort to live in peace.” This means drowning out the voices that don’t matter, staying true to herself, and, of course, living in laughter.
YOU CAN SIT WITH US
By BIANCA CUSTODIO. Cover Story by GABY GLORIA. Photographs by RENZO NAVARRO. Fashion Director PAM QUIÑONES. Beauty Editor JOYCE OREÑA. Fashion Editor DAVID MILAN. Makeup: Carell Garcia, Julius Cabanisas, Mark Qua, Theresa Padin. Hair: Bill Watson and Cherry Reyes of Toni &Guy. Art Director: Jann Pascua. Production Design: Justine Bumanlag. Executive Producer: Anz Hizon. Associate Producer: Bianca Zaragoza. Beauty Writer: Bianca Custodio. Nails: Extraordinail. Digital Associate Editor: Chelsea Sarabia. Digital Content Writer: Daphne Sagun. Multimedia Artist: Tinkerbell Poblete. Photographer’s Assistant: Alexis Wang, Dominic Pamatmat. Stylist’s Assistants: Neil de Guzman, Ticia Almazan. Hair Assistants: Glenda Eugenio, John Al-rey Valencia, Lindsay Agapito, Noel Muncada. Production Design Assistants: Gabrielle Mantala, Geber Cunanan, Jan Abal, Jonel Navarro, Olderico Bondoc. Shot on location at Balara Content Studio.
