Dancers reflect on Ultimate Battle Rivalskool Africa experience

Ultimate Battle Rivalskool Africa, a competition celebrating dance and creativity, held its finals in Johannesburg, South Africa this past weekend.

The event featured contestants from four continents — Africa, Asia, Europe and South America — showcasing their talents and competing for top honours. The competition followed a series of auditions conducted in various cities, including Bulawayo, Lusaka and Gaborone, where dancers from across the globe showcased their skills.

Dancers competed to hip-hop and break beats music, showcasing their skills in hip-hop and Afro music. Zimbabwe was represented by talented and versatile dancers, Manubukhosi Prince Masinge (Uncle Stunna), Prince Chibansha (Unofficial Prince), Carlton Mpofu (Umnuko wethrift) and Methembe Ndlovu (Blinko). Sadly, none of them made it to the final round.

Uncle Stunna shared that he and Unofficial Prince advanced on the first day of the competition.”We won our first battle, but unfortunately, on the second day, we were knocked out in the top 16,” he said. This year’s champion was Candyman from Congo, the 2022 winner who retained the title.

Second place went to Dexter from Senegal, who is based in France and third place to Pradeep from India. The top three dancers in each category received the following: first place won a gold trophy plus 1 000 euros (approx. US$1 095), second place won a silver trophy and third place received a bronze trophy.

Uncle Stunna expressed pride in representing Zimbabwe.”I really felt humbled to be in that place. I was happy to see how far I’ve come in my career as a Zimbabwean dancer. Meeting some of the dancers I look up to and competing against them was an honour. The experience was amazing. We got to talk to the Brazilian judges, Sapo and Allefthedeep, who shared valuable insights on how we can grow individually in our dancing,” he said.

Unofficial Prince also reflected on the experience, noting that it taught him a lot about dance, particularly the emphasis on Western and Caribbean-Latino styles. He observed that African styles were less familiar to the judges, which provided him with new perspectives on how to bridge this gap in his own performances.

“Meeting dancers from different continents was informative and interactive. Competing with people we look up to was a priceless experience. Though the judges were unfamiliar with African styles, we as dancers enjoyed every moment. Our dance styles were different from other dancers and they appreciated that.

“I’m hoping that in the future we can have cultural exchange programmes involving Zimbabweans going abroad to share not only traditional dances, but also our modern dances,” said Unofficial Prince.