MZUKA AFRICA DANCE AWARDS NOMINEES

BEST MALE DANCER
1. Jackso - Dabs (Mombasa)
2. Bruce - The Band (Nairobi)
3. Leemo – B12 (Mombasa)
4. Chiluba - DSI (Nairobi)
5. Daniel - Igiza (Nakuru)
6. Kanda Junior (Nairobi)
7.  Freddy - F.B.I (Nairobi)
8.  Manu - Titans (Nairobi)
9.  Joshu - Jims and Dims (Nairobi)
10.  Coldy - All Stars (Nairobi)
11. Brayo Mifwit - Boom Crew (Nairobi)
12. Dru Dancemafia (Nairobi)

BEST FEMALE DANCER
1. Joyce - Igiza (Nakuru)
2. Lucy - Shrink (Nairobi)
3. Gaya - Yawa (Kisumu)
4. Annita - Zawadi (Nairobi)
5. Carol - Jims and Dims (Nairobi)
6. Farida - G-Clef (Mombasa)
7. Aggy - Sarakasi (Nairobi)
8. Naomi - (Nairobi)
9. Clemo - Side B (Nairobi)
10. Tumi - Alter Quins (Nairobi)
11. Lady Tasha - (Nairobi)

BEST DANCE CREW
1. F.B.I - Nairobi
2. Everlast - Busia
3. The Band - Nairobi
4. Dabs - Mombasa
5. D.S.I - Nairobi
6. Tsunami - Mombasa
7. Yawa - Kisumu
8. Jims and Dims - Nairobi
9. Igiza - Nakuru
10. Gospel Warriors - Eldoret
11. Alterim – Nairobi
12. Christ Soldiers – Kajiado
13. I.D.U – Uganda
14. T-Africa – Tanzania
15. Sarakasi Dancers - Nairobi

BEST HIPHOP CREW
1. B-boy Squad - Nairobi
2. Sisko - Nairobi
3. Dabs All Stars - Mombasa
4. Street Error - Malindi
5. The Band - Nairobi
6. Boom Crew - Nairobi
7. F.B.I - Nairobi
8. So-Sick - Eldoret
9. Limbo - Nairobi
10. Jims and Dims - Nairobi
11. Detour – Nairobi
12. G-Syders – Nairobi

BEST AFRO/ DANCEHALL CREW
1. D.S.I - Nairobi
2. Igiza - Nakuru
3. Altermin - Nairobi
4. Le- Afrique - Nakuru
5. F.B.I - Nairobi
6. Dynamix - Embu
7. Platinum - Nairobi
8. Kenya Legacy - Nairobi
9. Sarakasi - Nairobi
10. Alpaccino - Nairobi
11. Mystical - Mombasa
12. Flammers – Nairobi
13. All stars – Nairobi
14. Unnik -  Nairobi
15.Sarakasi - Nairobi

BEST LATIN
1. Salsa Afrique - Nairobi
2. Dance Village - Nairobi


BEST CHOREOGRAPHER
1. Chiluba - D.S.I (Nairobi)
2. Freddy - F.B.I (Nairobi)
3. Marqus - Titans (Nairobi)
4. Stone - Sisko (Nairobi)
5. Bruce - The Band (Nairobi)
6. Jackso - Dabs (Mombasa)
7. Githendu - The Band (Nairobi)
8. Mbarack - I-Emas (Nairobi)
9. Edu - Sarakasi (Nairobi)
10.E-Sir – Sarakasi (Nairobi)
11. Sule – The Band (Nairobi)
12. Renee – Dashy


BEST MODERN DANCE IN DRAMA FESTIVALS
1. NYS - Nairobi
2.Nembu Girls - Nairobi
3. MCK Kariokor - Nairobi
4. Technical - Nairobi
5. Kegonge Boys - Embu
6. Lions - Kisumu
7. Nairobi Aviation - Nairobi
8. KSMC - Nairobi
9. Zetech - Nairobi



BEST YOUTUBE SENSATION
1. D.S.I - Nairobi
2. F.B.I - Nairobi
3. The Band - Nairobi
4. Street Pokers - Nairobi
5. Dru Dance Mafia - Nairobi
6. Kenya Legacy - Nairobi
7. Igiza - Nairobi
8. Heat Makers - Thika
9. Mystical - Mombasa
10. Art in Motion - Nairobi
BEST DANCE HOUSE
1. Sarakasi - Nairobi
2. Yawa - KLisumu
3. K-PAG - Nairobi
4. Sarari Cats - Nairobi
5. Dance Village – Nairobi
6. Academy of Dance & Art - Karen

BEST DANCE EVENT / SHOW
1. Break Session
2. Dance Unplugged
3. Sakata
4. Jims Experience
5. Spa Fest
6. Banjuka - Eldoret
7. Talanta Dance Festival - Mombasa

BEST DANCE ADVERT/ MEDIA
1. Close Up
2. Trust
3. Always
4. Safaricom
5. Faulu
6. Snap

BEST SPORT CELEBRATION DANCE
1. Kemboi
2. Sofapaka
3. Oliech
4. Gor Mahia
5. Strathmore
6. Kenya Queens Malkia (Volley ball)

BEST DANCE  MUSIC VIDEO
1. Weka Weka - P Unit
2. Pakacha - D.K
3. Lipala Dance - Sauti Sol
4. Show - Victoriua Kimani
5. Balance - F.B.I

BEST DRESSED DANCE CREW
1. Alpaccino - Nairobi
2. Shakers - Nairobi
3. Black Blingers - Nairobi
4. Tsunami - Mombasa
5. B12 - Mombasa
6. F.B.I – Nairobi
7. Jims & Dims – Nairobi
8. I.D.U - Nairobi

BEST DRESSED MALE/FEMALE DANCER
1. Mute - F.B.I (Nairobi)
2. Sanchez - B.B (Nairobi)
3. Shebo - Dabs (Mombasa)
4. Ravin - Alpacchino (Nairobi)
5. Luwi - Tsunami (Nairobi)
6. Maggy - (Nairobi)
7. Kelly -  D.S.I (Nairobi)

BEST JUDGE
1. Ian
2. Wyre
3. Joan
4. Bonless
5. Qqu
6. Mbarack

BEST PERFORMING/ DANCING ARTIST
1. Wyre
2. Akothe
3. Kris Eh Baba
4. Bahati
5. D.K
6. Willy Paul
7. Nameless
8. Wahu
9. Amani
10. Avril
11. Size 8

BEST DANCE SONG
1. Sari Sari - D.K
2. Sura Yako - Sauti Sol
3. Furi Furi -Jimmy Gait & D.K
4. Get Down - Madtrax
5. Kode - Airforce
6. Balance - F.B.I

BEST CORPORATE/ NGO/ GOVERNMENT SUPPORTING DANCE
1. Nairobi City County
2. Urban Bites
3. Youth Fund
4. Ministry of Culture
5. Lucozade
6. Trust
7. Cellulant

MOST PROMISING CREW
1. Shakers
2. The Crew
3. Ceraphics
4. X- Acid
5. Zawadi
6. LXD (Mombasa)
7. Street Error
8. Unique Crew
9. Alter Queens
10. The Pillar
11. The Dream
12. Platinum
13. Unnik Crew

BEST ALTERNATIVE
1. Viva Marimba -  (Nairobi)
2. Sound of Africa - Nairobi
3. Kenya Utamaduni Ngoma - Nairobi
4. Bomas of Kenya  - Nairobi
5. Tarumbeta - Nairobi
6. Sons of Africa -
7. Jambo Mambo
8. Afro Jungle Jeeges
9. Shangaza
10. African Footprint
11. Abaki Simba

BEST B BOY/ B GAL
1. B boy Dennis - F.B.I (Nairobi)
2. B boy  Ommy - F.B.I (Nairobi)
3. B boy Allan - So- Sick (Eldoret)
4. B boy Aqua - Boom Crew (Nairobi)
5. B boy More trix - Dabs Allstars (Nairobi)
6. B boy Riser - Dabz (Mombasa)
7. B boy Monsta - Street Error (Malindi)
8. B boy Mifwit - (Nairobi)
9. Kijibwa - (Mombasa)
10. B Girl Keys – Uganda
11. B Girl Cindy – South Africa
12. B Boy Zungu – Tanzani
13. B Boy Seki – Tanzania
14. B Boy Amani - Rwanda

THE STORM THAT IS VID

I know, this will sound a little dramatic but I like it. Bboy vid is one great artist, commonly known for his spontaneous Air Chairs, he has managed to accomplish what many only dream of. He is reserved and thats why most of us think the Bboy is shy until you meet him schooling opponents on the floor. When I met him I did not think much of him but his eyes told a story of a ferocious warrior whose blades are sharp and ready to go. Now residing in Niederrohrdof Forholzli, Switzerland Vid tells me of his new life and how  everything is constantly changing,

Dancepeeps: when did go to Switzerland?
Bboy Vid: I arrived here on March 14th 2015.

Dancepeeps: Let me drop the bomb. First things first,you are a dad now.

THE GIFT THAT MEANS ALOT TO BBOY VID

 
Bboy Vid: Yes am a dad now.God blessed us with a beautiful daughter:)

MOTHER-DAUGHTER SELFIE

Dancepeeps:Congrats man, so proud of you, How does it make you feel?

Bboy Vid:Thanks bro! *Clearly excited* I appreciate. Oh men, I luck words to explain how it feels. Its the most amazing and extremely awesome thing in the world. Its the best gift ever man! It's amazing.

THAT BOND OF ONE THAT COMPLETES THE TWO.

Dancepeeps: I know, so now you have a new boss. lets talk dance.
Bboy Vid:sure thing.

Dancepeeps:How can you compare your dancing now and one year ago?

Bboy Vid:There is a great difference because I feel I have improved my dancing. I have gained more knowledge about dance, been taught and learnt from great dancers. My inspiration and technique has been influenced by the new knowledge and I am humbled and thank God for opportunity to grow as a dancer.

Dancepeeps:You are a bboy by origin then other forms of dance comes after. Do you feel Bboy is one dance that trully defines you?

Bboy Vid:*laughs* You are absolutely right, Bboy is a dance technique that truly defines me.

Dancepeeps: and you were recently in a redbull workshop. Tell me about That.

Bboy Vid: Yeah, that was a dream come true. The workshop was super dope , awesome,great but the biggest attraction was the professional Bboys that taught. They literary explained what really takes to win a Redbull Bc One tittle and any other bboy battle.It was quite the challenge.



Dancepeeps: What is the difference from the kenyan Workshops?

Bboy Vid:This guys got the best. I mean International Breakers teaching guys who have won Bboy events like Redbull bc one, BOTY and the like.In Kenya we have great Workshops but we lack International Bboy Workshops which are a different experience all together. My hope is that this will end soon and I have a great feeling about this.

Dancepeeps:Who are some of the guys you Interacted with?

Bboy Vid: Mr. Wiggles, Bboy Mounir, Bboy Junior  and Bboy Menno.

POSTED BY BBOY MENNO ON HIS IG BBOY VID ON THE REDBULL WORKSHOP.

Dancepeeps:That is a very good list.A very good one.

Bboy Vid:Yeah getting down in the cypher with this guys was incredible.I threw down man. This was a chance of a life time.

Dancepeeps:Nice. I never knew you as one to back Down. Have you heard that FBI are competing at Hip hop International?

Bboy Vid: I heard and read about it on Facebook. That is a very good deal and my prayer is that it all works out.Dance in Kenya need to be recognized for sure because 'Kenya Got Talent'. I wish them all the best and hope they select a good team that is going to represent FBI and Kenya as a whole.The need to select the best Kenya can offer. Its tricky but I hope they make a wise decision on who to pick.


Dancepeeps:Any word for the breakers and dancers
 in Kenya?

Thanks bro, Never give up in this breaking Life.Wishing all dancers the best and especially FBI, GO GO GO HARD!

THE FUTURE IS HERE

FB:click BBOY VID

A DAY FOR OUR MOTHERS-MOTHERS DAY

Good evening, here is to a great day and happy tidings to a day we celebrate our dear mothers. I happen to be very close to my mum and draw so much social skills from her. I am humbled every time by her great work in raising me and my siblings and that's why I take tonnes of space to say, "MUM, YOU ARE THE BEST!"

I am not alone. A couple of industry Players had this to say Today:

 "To the strongest women in our lives, our mums, happy mothers day today and everyday of the year"

CHILUBA ARTHUR

DSI

CREW LEADER

JOHNNIE WUPS OF DETOUR.

  

"Eunice kamau Happy mothers day mom and all mothers. you are a jewel that makes everyone shine in the family.your love is beyond measure and  your support is  a blessing.happy mothers day mom love you ."

YOUR SON JOHNNIE WUPS

CREW MANAGER

DETOUR DANCE CREW

FRED WACHIRA OF SWAP UNIT.

"Happy mothers day to all women in the world, The world ceases to exist without you, Mum, I love you for life."

FRED WACHIRA

SWAP UNIT

LOGISTICS MANAGER

#KEDANCEAWARDS

 




"A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials and heavy and sudden fall upon us, when adversity takes the place of prosperity, when fries desert us, when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate and cause peace to return to our hearts."

IN TRUE COLORS GOD GAVE MOTHERS A HEART OF UNMEASURABLE CARE. FREDDY MILAYA AKA MILAN.

FREDDY MILAYA

FBI CREW LEADER AND DANCER.

WE CELEBRATE MAMA CHILUBA

The strength that is a mothers love is amazing. As we close this day, we celebrate a mother who has given us a phenomenon dancer. Hats off for MAMA CHILUBA!.

Remember to leave your comments and suggestions below. Happy mothers day it is.

THE LABOUR WE ARE

TODAY WE HOPE

I had hoped to do this earlier for even I had posted a facebook post on this day but as project planning would have it, I was arrested by a pen and paper, not forgetting my son's excitement for play with dad. I get it, we as employees are engulfed so much in being the best at work that we sometimes forget what importance is there in coming home with the same energy that we left in. For almost an year now, I have been glued in my imagination of what this factor of production called human capital is being treated in the dance industry.

MAKE IT COUNT

I have engaged a few professionals, talked to my colleagues and hell even engaged dancers just to get an insight on what is and is not. I will be careful because I might rub a few wounds and I do not wish that this article be the well read, mis intepretted piece on #KOT that ends up loosing its mean all the while not solving the emminent matter or issue as the local shows may call it. Yes! I play this scenarios in my head and none of them ends with the industry growing, jut a taste of unfavoured fame that ends up as that proverbial fire in the forest that fades off  never to rise again since there no more trees to burn.


Far off is the structure and the body of operation in the dance industry in kenya. sometime I wonder if whether its an industry or just a todler that is never growing up. *Careful :) * its true because we are hurting and the art everyday is stagnant, without cause and direction, because no real issues are being sorted. we have no structure, no unity of purpose and infact no standards set for the dance fraternity, so now every Tom Dick and Harry (Bboy Harry No pun intended) can get in and try a shot with all the mediorce dancing and management skills we can think off. I can't blame this rugged "wanna be" managers because they see an opportunity and take it, but I blame us, us who understand the art and are ready to die for it. we need to talk, engage and advice more on proper ways to legthen a crews life, how to choose a manager or damn even how to dress for a performance.





The industry players need to come together because our human capital is under paid, un trained and poorly managed. This song has been sang over and over and over but to no avail of change. Today is a day we celebrate our labour force and efforts but for the dance industry we hope. we hope for a future with great tidings, a future that our painful past shall curve. You are the change and if you don't grow in mind and skill we all are doomed to fail.

FOR IT IS IN STANDING TOGETHER THAT OUR WEAKNESS WILL BE OUR STRENGTH

I encourage all of us to engage, leave your comments and suggestions on this topic below.  

TODAY WE HOPE

WORLD INTERNATIONAL DANCE DAY

I woke up upbeat because for me this year is a great year for my writing and dance growth. evidently, its also a great and very crucial day for the dance industry because it is our day. we celebrate dance today and involve new audiences in an aim to spread the knowledge in dance. I have for a while been troubled by how our ability to create has been hindered by our mind block and how  the "copy paste" mentality has deprieved us the opportunity to access our most creative and wildly daring nature in our art form. 

I refuse to give up and today I open my eyes to this new light of association and collaboration. The new path of selflessness. The official dance day message delivered by The President of the International Dance Council CID- ALKIS RAFTIS encourages free participation and inclusion of other forms of art to tell dance stories and to educate. I do not wish to pre empty this so just go ahead and read the speech.

The official message for

Dance Day

29 April 2015

    A century ago famous Russian organizer Sergei Diaghilev revolutionized ballet by inviting the most talented painters and musicians of his time to contribute to his performances. I have the impression that present day choreographers neglect the other arts, do not feel the need to present their creations alongside their equals in other fields.

   I am sure audiences would appreciate more arts included in dance performances, starting with the classical arts: painting, sculpture, theater, music, poetry, architecture, as well as more modern forms like photography, cinema, multimedia, lighting design, sound design. Let me go further in proposing to enrich choreography with the humanities (history, literature, philosophy and linguistics). Personally I would particularly enjoy storytelling, martial arts, and - I mean it very seriously - culinary arts.

    There is nothing new to it, ancient Greeks in their symposia combined all the above. After 25 centuries we could return to the idea that a complete performance combines as many arts as possible.

    This year the International Dance Council CID joins forces with a sister organization to celebrate Dance Day. The International Association of Art IAA/AIAP is a non-governmental organization whose offices are next to ours at UNESCO. Our common proposal is to combine dance with painting, drawing, sculpture or other forms of creative work in the visual arts.

    Many thanks to Ms. Rosa-Maria Burillo from Mexico, World President of IAA/AIAP, who mobilized artists from dozens of countries suggesting they cooperate with choreographers, dancers and dance teachers in common events: performances, exhibitions, happenings, flashmobs, worship meetings, therapeutic sessions and (why not?) banquets!

Alkis Raftis( researcher in the field of dance, including ethnographic research on traditional Greek dance. Also, Raftis is the president of International Dance Council at UNESCO)

                                                                   Alkis Raftis

                                      President of the International Dance Council CID

                                                                UNESCO, Paris

 Remember to leave you comment and suggestions on the comment section below.

                                                  

STEP UP ALL IN Trailer Official - Ryan Guzman, Briana Evigan

Wondering where to watch the fifth instalment of step up?

-Century Cinemax Junction, Nairobi
- Fox Cineplex Sarit, Nairobi
- Planet Media, Prestige Plaza Nairobi
- Nyali Cinemax, Mombasa
- Planet Media Mega City Mall, Kisumu

INTERNATIONAL DANCE DAY 2014,29TH APRIL

There is no denying dance is beautiful and if you didn't know yesterday was the 32nd international dance day don't worry, your friends probably were not aware either. I got you because now you know.

History

"International Dance Day was introduced in 1982 by the International Dance Council (CID, Conseil International de la Danse), a UNESCO partner NGO, and is celebrated on April 29 every year. The date is not linked to a particular person or a particular form of dance, although incidentally it is also the day when the French dancer and balletmaster Jean-Georges Noverre was born.. The main purpose of Dance Day events is to attract the attention of the wider public to the art of dance. Emphasis should be given to addressing a new public, people who do not follow dance events during the course of the year."

~Wikipedia

PRESENT DAY

Every year, the president of the CID sends the official message for Dance Day which circulate in every country of the world. This year the message was from one deserving French Dancer and choreographer Mourad Merzouki!

Mourad Merzouki

MOURAD MERZOUKI

Born in Lyon in 1973, Mourad Merzouki began practicing  martial arts and circus arts at the age of seven. When he was fifteen, he encountered hip-hop culture for the first time and through it, he discovered dance.

He quickly decided to develop this form of street art while also experimenting with other choreographic styles, particularly with other dance artists Maryse Delente, Jean-François Duroure and Josef Nadj.

The wealth of his experiences fed his desire to direct artistic projects, blending hip hop with other disciplines. It is what he did in 1989 with Kader Attou, Eric Mezino and Chaouki Saïd when he created his first company ‘Accrorap’. 

 In 1994 the company performed Athina during Lyon’s Biennial Dance Festival; it was a triumph that brought street dance to the stage. 

Merzouki’s travels have led him into unchartered territory, where dance can be a powerful means of communication. In order to develop his own artistic style and sensitivity, Merzouki established his own company, Käfig, in 1996.

In January 2006, the Company Käfig began residing in Espace Albert Camus in Bron. This linked theatre with the festival Karavel, created in 2007 by Mourad Merzouki, programming notably around 10 hip hop companies and other events in the city.

In parallel, he imagined and conceived a new place of choreographic creation and development, which led to Pôle Pik opening its doors in Bron in 2009. 

In June 2009, Mourad Merzouki was appointed director of the Centre chorégraphique de Créteil et du Val de Marne. He continues to develop his projects there, with an accent on openness to the world. In 18 years, the choreographer has created 22 productions, and his company gives on average 150 performances per year around the world. 

COURTESY OF www.international-dance-day.org

MESSAGE FROM MOURAD MERZOUKI

Every artist takes pride in his art.Every artist will always defend the art form whose encounter has changed his life.For that which he has sought and lost and for that which he has the burning desire to share: be it the echo of a voice, the discovered word, the interpretation of a text for humanity, the music without which the universe will stop speaking to us, or the movement which opens the doors to grace.

I have, for dance, not only the pride of a dancer and choreographer, but profound gratitude. Dance gave me my lucky break. It has become my ethics by virtue of its discipline and provided the means through which I discover the world daily.

Closer to me than anything else, it gives me strength each day through the energy and generosity as only dance can. Its poetry comforts me.

Could I say that I wouldn’t exist without dance? Without the capacity for expression it has given me? Without the confidence I have found in it to overcome my fears, to avoid dead ends? Thanks to dance, immersed in the beauty and complexity of the world, I have become a citizen. A peculiar citizen who reinvents the social codes in the course of his encounters, remaining true to the values of the hip-hop culture which transforms negative energy into a positive force.

I live and breathe dance daily as an honour. But I am living with this honour deeply concerned. I witness around me the loss of bearings and the inability of some of the youth from the working class, growing up in tension and frustration, to imagine their future. I am one of them; so are we all. I am driven, perhaps more than others, by setting an example, to help them fuel their lust for life. For isn’t society richer with the richness of each of us? Culture, more than any discourse, unites. So have courage and take risks despite the obstacles and the hatred with which you will no doubt be confronted; the beauty of the world will always be by your side. Like dance has been for me. With its singular force to eliminate social and ethnic distinctions, leaving but the movement of bodies in their essence, of human beings returning to their pure expression, unique and shared.

I would like to end by quoting René Char whose words remind me daily to not let anyone confine us to scripted roles.

“Push your luck, hold on tight to your good fortune, and take your risk. Watching you, they will get used to it.”

So try, fail, start all over again but above all, dance, never stop dancing!

Mourad Merzouki: so try, fail,start all over againbut above all, dance ,never stop dancing!

 Dance is undeniably beautiful and in its existence we break barriers and build strong societies with a definite culture. check out the video version of the message here, its definately a romance in movement.

Check out the reactions on DSI's status update on International dance day here

Fiona miller cyrus: Dancerz always bring the picture of music out...