When hip-hop, break dance meet

Koloto ‘Storm Wonder’ Sirajje of Brotherhood Dance Project in Jinja performs a hallow back during the Breakfast Jam competitions at Nsambya Sharing Hall last month. Below is Ddamba ‘Mostrixx’ Faisal of Vizuli Dance Crew performing a hallow. Courtesy PHOTO

What you need to know:

The project that happened on November 22 to November 23 gathered hip-hop and break dance fans from around East Africa, to workshops and a dance battle that Mbale’s Bogere Allan, aka B.Boy News, won in the adult dance battle

The year 2014 has been an incredible one for the hip-hop culture in Uganda. With events Like Bayimba Festival of the Arts and End Of The Weak giving massive platforms to artistes, Breakfast Jam 2014 also complemented the culture with a break dance competition, accompanied by graffiti art, beat boxing, and hip-hop music all under one umbrella.

The project that happened on November 22 to November 23 gathered hip-hop and break dance fans from around East Africa, to workshops and a dance battle that Mbale’s Bogere Allan, aka B.Boy News, won in the adult dance battle.

Fifteen-year-old Paul Kutosi, stage name B. Boy Paul, from Mbale Secondary School won the children’s dance battle title from defending champion B.Boy Chief, where he showcased mastery and control; flying mid-air, with spins and self-body lifts. All the dancers in the competition hopped with poise and equilibrium; spinning and jolting, pelting to the floor and effortlessly skipping to their feet without a broken rib.

The crowd at Nsambya Sharing Hall sat round in the form of a large African pot, with the dance battle cooking right in the centre. The audience was engaged, the judges keen and the dancers battling their best skill to win the annual title in three different categories; that also included an East African winner. The team had an elimination round in Nairobi, Kenya, that brought the best competitors from Kenya to battle here.

Mark Kaweesi, one of the judges and founders of the project, says people do not realise the marriage between break dance, graffiti, beat boxing and hip-hop.

“Interacting with rappers in Kenya makes you realise how hip-hop is only recognised as mainstream rap music, so we spread this marriage,” he says.

Dancing for a social cause
Joram Ssekitoleko, alias Joram MC, says the Breakfast Jam intends to create a movement for social change through dance and hip-hop.

“We carry out competitions in Gulu, Jinja, Kampala, Kitgum, and have young people showcase their dance skills, and our platform for children helps them find something they are passionate about, and then we are able to support a social cause,” Ssekitoleko says. He resounds Kaweesi’s remark that the movement, which began only in Kampala, saw the idea and art spread as far as Gulu, Kampala, Mbale and Masaka, since members kept relocating.

Kaweesi ascribes this success to dance tutors Abrahams Tekya and Sylvester Kabombo, whose contribution to underground hip-hop culture helped bridge the gap between the mainstream that has people like rapper Edwin Ruyonga and the underground of raw undiscovered talent.

He joyously speaks about Break Dance Project Uganda that offers free dance classes, and whose documentary, Bouncing Cats has created exposure, that more Ugandan’s are representing the culture at international scenes like Shake The Dust that comprised Uganda, Yemen, Cambodia and Columbia.

B.Boy Paul attributes his mastery of dance to the mentorship of B.Boy News, who, together with Dream House Uganda, reach out to young children through dance.

Paul says dance is a discipline, an expression of feelings that can be used to inspire people.
The hip-hop culture is growing and in its wake, a generation of young artistic people who care about their community. DJ Andy Mclean, who played to the event, says what the Breakfast Jam crew does is inspiring, because proceeds will go to charity.

Rules of the game
Mark Kaweesi, one of the judges and founders of the project, says: “We follow the FATES Theory when we judge. It stands for Foundation, Artistry, Technicality Execution and Strategy,” explaining that they delve into basics of break dance, own creation, clean and neat cut dance moves, and how effectively dancers use all they have mastered, within the short battle.