Dance off finale: who will take the crown?
Sep 15, 2018
Five finalists of the TV show Dance Off - The genesis will battle it out for the grand prize of sh30m.
LIFESTYLE
It has taken six months of searching and tomorrow, Vision Group's Urban Television will crown Uganda's 2018 finest dance crew.
Five finalists of the TV show Dance Off - The genesis will battle it out for the grand prize of sh30m. The first and second runners-up will be walking away with sh15m and sh5m respectively.
The four confirmed finalists are Transformation 256, Trojans dance crew, Athena entertainment network and Jets crew. They will be joined by either Kings 256 or team Jimo who are competing for the popularity vote to make it to the Grand finale this Sunday.
Ever since the dance world exploded onto the reality television scene, competing dancers have received quite a reputation. Many have attained the celebrity status and so many dancers aspire for this superstardom but, professionalism and money is also involved.
It has been a rollercoaster of incredible dance forms showcased by the 120 dance crews from all over Uganda. Some were electric some bordered on hilarity.
Performers were not limited to contemporary dance, anything passed including taditional dances from Buganda's Bakisimba to Acholi's Larakaraka dance.
Trojans dance crew
It is no-wonder so many dancers signed up for a piece of the action when Vision Groups Urban Television announced that it would run a dance competition, Dance Off- the Genesis.
Auditions
If not for the money, crews were out seeking for bragging rights over the others and most importantly being set on a professional journey to dance, where they can command respect and earn a decent living.
With all that catered for, On April 7, 2018 at Club Pier A2 in Gulu North of Uganda, the journey to Dance Off the Genesis, kicked off.
On this Saturday night, a total of 12 dance crews from the region turned up for the auditions. The casting crew from Vision Groups Urban TV and Kunta productions looked forward to a good treat that night. True to form, the auditions turned out to be very competitive.
The King256 crew
The judges were treated to a delightful mix of contemporary and traditional dance but, only two groups would be selected by viewers across the country to represent the northern region in the bootcamp .
If there is anything Gulu served, it was a precursor that the contest would provide more quality, energy and style from all the other regions that the judges would audition.
After Gulu the next stop was Mbarara for the western region auditions, then Mbale for the eastern region. It was when judges finally settled in Kampala in the central region that the competition reached fever-pitch.
Unlike the other regions that would provide two crews for boot camp Kampala was to provide four.
The Jets crew
Instead of ten best crews as was earlier planned, the Dance Off judges announced 11 crews as two from Kampala region tied in fourth position to take the number of crews going for boot camp to 11.
Another three crews were selected through the people's choice, a popular vote to take the total number of crew competing for top honours and the price money to 14.
"We had a whole lot of talented dancers, some who went through shocked us but, the people decided," Judges Abdu Abdanger (dancer), Vee Viccy (choreographer) and Uncle Walter (dance instructer) said ahead of the huge announcement on Urban TV Sunday night.
Polishing
After being polished for two weeks the 14 competing crews put up an impressive show at their secret mansion but, four fell short. The Oldies, Luo Fame, 24/7 dance crew and Luo revolution all failed to impress the judges. One was to be saved by their viewers and that was 24/7 dance crew.
There were plenty of spins in the boot camp; crews were thrown in the deep end and given dance tasks to execute, to see how much they have embraced their journey to professional dance.
Some of the crew impressed with their well-choreographed dance and style, while others struggled. More were evicted. This Sunday the five remaining finalists battle it out for the sh50m prize money.
Solo dancers
There will also be the solo dance category in the finals. But, only two from the 13 finalists will be competing for the sh1m prize money and title of Uganda's best solo dancer 2018.
Ronnie Mulindwa, the former Obsessions dance group manager and Hotsteps judge says Dance Off is on track to getting the dance industry more professionalised.
"Just like music or any art, dance can be a respectable professional that earn the people in it a lot of money. But, of course it all has to go through a phase. Dance Off is continuing to lay that foundation for professionalism," he says.
This Sunday the stage is set for an epic Dance Off finale. To see which crew becomes Uganda's finest dance crew 2018 and who becomes Uganda's finest solo dancer 2018 follow all the action get all the action this Sunday on Urban TV on Channel 130 on Startimes, Channel 375 on GoTV, Channel 288 on DStv, Channel 38 on Zuku and Channel 147 on Azam TV.