Traditional dance competitions return with a bang

The third edition of Chibuku traditional dance competition was launched Friday in Jinja at Kazimingi grounds and will run from this Friday to May 19 across the country.

This cultural dance competition that had picked up its footing on the social scene as one of the most fierce and unique musical competition did not do themselves favours when it failed to run last year perhaps due to logistical issues yet, it was one of those competitions worth following.

But on return, the organisers, Balina Talents, seemed to have come back with lessons learnt from mistakes committed the past two editions. One contentious issue was not bringing in more regions, especially the northern region, to the competition.

So, this year, districts in the west like Mbarara and Hoima, East with Soroti and North like Lira have been added in to strike regional balance and sort out that contentious issue. At first, they stopped in Masaka, Mbale, Jinja and all central regions and it seemed unfair to other regions. But now that is gone.

According Davidson Wadada, traditional African beverages manager, the move to bring in more districts is to grow the event as the only traditional dance competition in Uganda. “Traditional dances are part of Uganda’s heritage. This competition gives us another platform to support the preservation of our cultures. We have added in more districts of Hoima, Mbarara, Soroti and Lira to expand this competition’s platform and promote our rich cultures,” he said.

Before the launch last Friday , that was laced with traditional performances from defending champions Bul Drum Group , Balina Talents had been moving around the country to sieve out the final competitors who will attempt to dislodge Bul Drum Group as the national defending champions and the sh3m cash prize.

The dance groups are only expected to perform pieces that promote and tell stories of their respective cultures.

The competition’s judges will comprise performances/arts experts from higher institutions of learning like Makerere University, Kyambogo University and Uganda Christian University (UCU) Mukono.