Batalo Battles

Let’s step back to elementary school and do a quick Venn diagram...

Hopefully if you remember how to analyze one of these you will see some of the differences between what used to be my life in Kitgum and what my current life in Kampala entails.

The main difference being the number of opportunities to attend arts based festivals now that I reside in the country’s one and only city.

After GirlTech my In Movement girls and I met up with the rest of the youth at The National Theatre for Batalo East.

Batalo East was a dance festival that fostered African traditions with urban, Afro hip-hop culture, notably through dance.

Traditional dances from all over this vast continent took place on the outside stage where one could also donate blood, test for HIV, and get screened for other STDs. 

A traditional dance from West Africa

Inside the theatre were where my people were to be found, battling five on five, two on two, and even one on one. 

As I made my way up to the open space with the bass rockin’ the floors and windows, I kept hearing my name from various youths lining the walls.  All of the Breakdance Project Uganda kids from South by Southwest Camp 2013 in Bushenyi were there!  Let me tell you, they never forget a face. 

They were all warming up for their respective performances, which oddly enough reminded me of my days at Jan Ta, leading up to the end of the year recital, although these guys were not in any sequenced costumes that had to be pinned to tights.

Quickly enough the dances started and I found myself cheering for my favorite friends, including Hamuza!  Even my GirlTech camper Sarah performed in the one on one battle, beating out a top B-Boy dancer. 

Hamuza: Day 1

Hamuza and Fahadhi: Day 1!  

Ivan

Frank and Edgar before they showcased their contemporary piece

My girl Sarah battling in her camp shirt!

I was beyond impressed by their skills, combining hip-hop and contemporary moves with modern music and traditional African drumbeats.

Soon I left my youth at the event to go back and bathe at the hotel I was staying in, conveniently across the road.  I could hear the beats as I scrubbed 2-weeks of camp off of me.  Due to various reasons, I decided to let my girls stay with me that night. 

1 room + 2 twin beds + 6 youth = 1 exhausted Tara!

My girls returned at around 10p, allowing me a couple hours to catch up on sleep but soon the room turned into a party as the boys joined us. 

We watched She’s All That, Planet Earth, and Bill Nye the Science Guy.  At midnight we decided to head to Nakumatt for dinner, which consisted of cake and yogurt. 

I felt like a chaperone at a middle school dance.  The boys left after the midnight meal, which meant lights out.

I was surprisingly comfortable but found that at around 2a my girl Rachel decided to use me as her little spoon. 

As the sound of women sweeping and mopping began to infiltrate the room, we knew it was time to go.  The girls were sad to leave but I safely put them in taxis and on bodas to reach home as I ventured off to the All Volunteer Conference.

That was right after I did some self-care by getting a mani/pedi.