Dance the house down
Different dance crews battled it out on the dance floor in different genres. The female crew Flawesome was impressive. PHOTOS BY ALEX ESAGALA
Celebrated for their marriage of traditional and urban dance styles, Batalo East yet again brought the dance fusions to the National Theatre in another dance festival last weekend. However, while hip-hop, B.boy dances were previously said to be a man’s world, the finals were adrenalin rushes of both male and female prowess.
Flawesome bellas, an all-girl dance squad of five went into battle with Congo’s Rinha crew. Voguer Lillian Nabaggala and Keysha Drichiru (Uganda) teamed up with Nina (Namganda) Lisma (Finland) and Mette Pedersen (Norway).
The girls competed with Congo’s Elie Batumike, Kambale Christian, Benjamin Bembeleza, Benjamin Byamana and Grace Kubuya. There was a nearly equivalent energy level strumming from both teams in this final round of the 5 on 5.
However, Rinha crew took the prize home. They competed in nearly five dance genres including Afro house. “We feel so delighted to win, away from Congo,” said Batumike.
A moment to laugh
The festival had dancers compete in genres including Afro House, Top Rock, Krump and Style Yake. Style Yake is the latest addition to the genres which gives one liberty to freestyle. One Tonny who identifies as “Nakyangwe Atanaaba” brought comedy to the stage, taking off his overall coat branded with KCCA to remain in suspenders.
Even though he brought comic relief, ‘Uncle’ Walter Ruva won this category after competing with the rather swift David Ssembatya (DVD 101) from H2C. Ruva also bagged the accolade for best Afro House dancer.
H2C’s Denis Ntembe, aka Dtrix, won the Krump category and Fahad who beat Finland’s Lisma won the Top rock category. Fahd then joined Team Jeff for the 2 on 2, but was beaten by team Pirimo where Hamuzah Pirimo brought a solid attack with his female counterpart Mette to win the prize.
Showcases
The weekend was a sweaty affair with dance classes and workshops such as the house dance class conducted by Judge Kapela from France. The judges ,including Faizal Mostrix, Philip Buyi and Sylvester Kibombo, also showed off their refined years of dance experience on the closing night.
Judge Amina (from Ndere Troupe) blossomed in the traditional meets urban brand as she danced Kiganda, and Kizino to a house track. Kibalama, the drummer, also ably fused into the Top Rock when he played local drum sounds.
Afro house dancers made a mix of Uganda’s Kadodi, Maganda, Runyege and Ekitagururo dance motifs into the fast leg work, giving the dance its own traces from home.
Finally, the winners of Sakata Mashariki dance competition, T.Africa from Tanzania closed Sunday night with a well-choreographed contemporary piece.
This festival concludes another year of monthly workshops and regional dance exchanges with dancers from around East Africa as well as France, Sweden, Germany, Tanzania and the DRC.
