Today, we are excited to be back at Barious’ house. There seems to be no limit to the talent among these young Congolese – singing, playing instruments, drama, dancing – they do it all. Darius, is one of the teachers of the hip hop dance crew that meets, learns and practices here.
“We learn a lot of our dances from YouTube. We just watch on our phones and then try it out!” Darius said.
There is always an event being put on in Nakivale, and Darius and his crew are frequently asked to perform. But, practicing can be difficult when they only have a mobile phone to play the music. “It’s hard to dance without music,” Darius tell us, “Music gives me the courage to really dance.” So, he had a simple idea to get their crew speakers and a recording camera.
“We get ideas from other dancers, and we also like to share the moves we’re working on. Being able to record ourselves will help us connect with dancers worldwide!”
The crew also wanted to look a bit more like a cohesive group. So that when they’re performing they look more professional and in sync. They requested some matching red shoes and coordinated costumes.
With just these few new items, this Nakivale hip hop crew is now able to practice their passion, be active and share their talent inside their community and beyond.
Special thanks to Hugo Hartman Hay, Willful, Bella Wordsworth, Gwyneth Dumont, and Clif Bar for making it happen and helping the Hip Hop Crew get to the next level.