Dancers are artists, performers and what they do is
perfected by years of training and great discipline. I have talked to choreographers,
dancers and dance legends in Kenya to try and understand where the bottom line
is drawn on dance competitions: I mean topics of cash prices to be won, cash to
be paid, contracts to be won, judges, stage and stage management and treatment
of dancers. So I want to put the responses as a note to anybody who is planning
on hosting a dance competition that DANCEPEEPS is listening and keenly watching
to put to shame anybody who is to swindle or attempt to misguide dancers and
dance society as a whole.
So what is required to make a just, fair and entertaining
dance Competition:
Bboy harry is a minister and a servant of God. Dance, to be precise
is what he uses to reach out to the youth.
Your also an event organizer, tell
me about that: ooh, yeah I do organize dance showcases to create, give
platform and exposure to both recognized and unrecognized Dance talent.
Awesome awesome awesome and I
reckon you are a choreographer and a dancer of “Shrink Dance Crew”: Yezird (yes) Kenya Best Christian Hip-hop
Crew…
Ha ha ha ha you really passionate
about your crew I must admit. What dance competitions have you been to:
He he he you have to be passionate by the way, every positive thing you are
involved in and that’s why B-boy Harry is been passionate about God, his crew
and Career. Shrink has been part of Spa Fest, Malta Guinness Street Dance,
sakata Dance Battle among other competition.
Yeah I get what you saying because
there comes a time when you “Hit the wall” and what takes you beyond this point
is the love you have vested in what you do-Definitive moment. What are the
difficulties have you been facing while preparing for competitions:
challenges are so many not even in the competition itself. Major challenges in
many crews are of financial status, dance facilities, ziko mob (they are many)… Texting ain (isn’t) enough.
Yeah and as past competitions
have been, I get that there some competitions that don’t pay up on the cash
prices to the winners. What’s your take on this: In order for crews not
to break or collapse and to help them stay focused, the competition should
adapt the moral of appreciating the participants with certificates and give a
ways ata kama hawapeani cash (even if
they are not awarding cash prices) there is a lot of ways of appreciating.
Damn that’s true especially because by attending
this competition then they are building experience and can also be used to
profile dancers and dance crews. Yeah true. Judges is a thorny issue among many
dancers. Describe an ideal judge
for a dance competition: A judge has to know what is dance, has to be a
mentor of dance, has to know genre of dance, keen, discreet, open minded above
all has to know how to dance.
So what you finished by saying is
that a judge MUST be a great dancer if it if not a perfect one: You can’t
hunt what you cant kill. you know what I mean!? He he he.
In total agreement, you recommend
a well a well vast dancer who has the skill and technique and in whose practical
expertise can be able to judge. Do we have a such in Kenya: Yes we do,I
wont mention names but wako, tena kwa
wingi! (there many).
Yeah we wouldn’t want to appear
biased Right? Cool cool. let’s talk emcees: He he emcees’ is another
hard and harsh topic, would prefer not to talk about at the moment.
So just to be clear the air, is a
dance Emcee different from any other emcees: Yeah they differ.
Difference is dance.
As an event organizer who has had
success in organizing consistent event “Dance Unplugged” what are some of the
challenges you face in achieving the best of your vision in a dance event:
First of all, I thank God for the success because without the challenges you won’t
produce fruits at the end. Challenge ni
mob (are many) starting from financial limitations, you need a stable job in
order to know how you can budget on financing your event, getting sponsors has
been a tough hustle too since they are looking for established, up and running
events, getting committed team with the same zeal and passion is challenging #JustToMentionButAFew.
That’s deep because passion is
key and doing it for a good cause is irreplaceable. What would you love to tell
dancers in Kenya: First dedicate your talent to God, let Him be your
source of inspiration and He will amplify your passion and owez (always) drive you towards your dreams. Realize that you are
unique and in like manner God loves you, so be humble decrease so that He can
increase JOHN 3:30.
That’s Powerful and wise. What
advice would you give event organizers in order to grow the quality of their
dance events: To all organizers especially dance organizers, event
follow ups matters a lot even if your event was a flop. Also don’t be afraid to
challenge yourself like I did with “Back To Dance”. The biggest risk was
organizing an event in the same day as a renowned Award show, I challenged
myself and Through God it went down successfully.
I can attest to that and I
appreciate for making time to do this interview on such short notice. Final Thoughts:
I just want to thank my crew “shrink” , Dj joelz, Collo, Kev, Deco, Fay and not
forgetting a special girl Lucy Lee for the tight love and support they have
shown and given me, thus my friends, all the dance crews and my precious
family. Above all I thank Jesus for everything and everyone. Lastly if you not
SWAG please SWAG UP, I mean Saved with amazing grace #SWAG# and leave a stress
free and happy life. You welcome maen (men).
Its clear standards have to be raised and I set out to interview a dancer,choreographer and a disciplined student next on DANCE EVENTS 102.
Its clear standards have to be raised and I set out to interview a dancer,choreographer and a disciplined student next on DANCE EVENTS 102.
