BOIPELO BOIKHUTSO
Stuku hosted its second annual Dance-Off last Thursday evening. A group called Elements of Revelation won the competition.
The theme of the competition was “The Journey” which meant that all the contestants had to make a dance sequence that interpreted a journey. The evening consisted of various genres of dance which included hip-hop, contemporary and sbujwa.
All ten finalists performed at the beginning of the competition with a dramatic act where the contestants portrayed suffering from a dancing “addiction”. The first performance was by Lipstick Alley, an all-girl group made up of two chemical engineering students and one internal auditing student.
Elements of Revelation set the stage on fire with their mainly hip-hop performance. The group received third place in last year’s “Tuks Has Got Talent” competition. The dance crew is made up of Kamogelo Molefe, Donald Marrocane, Isaac Nape, Davon Carlinsky and Cohen Grootboom. “It [feels] surreal, I cannot fathom this,” Molefe said about winning. He said that they dedicate their title to their late brother, Bryan Sibisi who danced with them. “He was with us in spirit,” he said.
Nape, who also competed on his own, received second place. He won last year’s dance-off and said that he entered the competition again to prove that you can win more than once. He said, “I take dance very deeply. It connects me with God.” His performance received a standing ovation from the audience.
Isaac Leshaba who came third imitated a game with different levels. At the end of each level the words “level completed, choose your weapon and proceed to the next level” rang out and he changed his dance style.
The Dance-Off was the third Stuku event in the series which is collectively called UP Arts. Nthabiseng Nooe, Stuku’s EC of Arts and Discipline, said that the point of these competitions is to promote the participation of all students, especially those who are not in res, in the culture of the university.
The contestants were each given a score out of 90 based on dance sequence, level and space, expression, creativity and interpretation of the given theme. The winners won with 84.7% and took home a R3 000 cash prize. Nape won
R2 000 with a percentage of 81.94% and Leshaba won R1 000 with 78.06%.
All finalists will perform for Motswako rapper Khuli Chana who will be visiting Tuks next Wednesday. He will select four people from the Poetry Slam, Idols and Dance- Off, who will stand the chance of winning a mentorship and recording a single with him.
Photos: Reinhard Nell
