On Wednesday night, the Wandegeya Junction was thrown into a frenzy; neon colors, high energy and massive impromptu crowds watching dancers sweat it off.
Two popular urban dancers; Basset Fame and Uncle Mayani, had taken an earlier social media battle on who is Uganda’s better dancer to the streets Step Up style.
The disruption attracted crowds around the dancers as they faced off. What started as a dance battle, climaxed into the launch of the upcoming Tusker Lite Neon Raves that has been elevated to a nationwide dance competition.
The Tusker Lite Neon Raves will this year seek to find Uganda’s best dance crew.
The neon raves have a reputation for bringing out the best in both music and dance; from DJ showcases earlier when they were launched to dance routines by groups and solo dancers such as Party People, Dance Mamweta and DVD AfroKing, they have always been the boiling point of a fresh kind of party.
This is also the first time there is a Neon Raves themed dance competition.
“This competition is our way of celebrating the unstoppable energy of Uganda’s dance culture. Launching it with a surprise flash mob right here in Wandegeya was intentional, this is where youth culture lives, moves, and sets the pace.
Tusker Lite has always stood for bold self-expression, creativity, and living life in the moment, and we’re proud to create a national platform where dance crews from across the country can showcase their talent, represent their communities, and shine on a bigger stage. This is more than a competition, it’s a movement,” said Sandra Againe, Tusker Lite brand manager.
At the launch, the public witnessed a sneak peak into what to expect at the Neon Raves competitions.
The challenger, Basset made quite an entrance, literally putting traffic at a standstill when the traffic lights gave him the green light as he approached the battle venue from the Ntinda side.
He took a spot just near the road and Rolex stalls, setting a dance routine rolling.
Not to be out done, Mayani and his crew joined but knowing that his opponent is stronger when Amapiano plays, he switched things up with dancehall and later hip hop before doing some moves on Amapiano.
Of course, that was a checkmate of sorts, but soon their crews joined them and off, they went through a rigorous routine which ended without a clear winner because the group dispersed and asked the audience to join in.
This saw dancers such as Dance Mamweta, and DVD Afro King join the party and pick sides. All this ended with them officially launching the Tusker Lite Neon Raves whose auditions across different cities in the country will start this month.