By Bayan Nalubwama
Francis Peter Ojede the Executive Director at the Uganda National Cultural Center (UNCC) has asked the public to take dance as an income generating activity other than looking at it as a hobby they can enjoy at their homes and offices.
During the celebration of the International Dance Day 2022 at the UNCC, Francis advised parents to help talented children professionalize the talent so that they can earn from it.
“Most of the wealthiest people in the world are people with talent. Parents should not stop their children from engaging in music, dance and drama and also sports because they are areas the world is focusing on. Help the children professionalize it so that they can earn lots and lots of money.” He said
Speaking at the event, Andrew Ssebagala, production manager at the Uganda National Cultural Center said the day commemorated to celebrate dance and people who put focus on dance and that UNCC is very set to come on board to develop the Dance career
“In Uganda we have cultural dances like bakasimba, Nankasa Muwogola, Laraka raka, orunyege, kadodi among others. We want to make Dance shine again because many times when we talk about a talent, people’s minds run quickly to music, Drama. Today, we want to tell the world that Dance is another talent that needs to be embraced.” He revealed.
Robert Musiitwa, the Public Relations Officer at the UNCC said that dance is a very crucial aspect of art both in Uganda’s culture and in terms of economic revenue generation.
“As Africans, naturally we are dancers because everything we do, we do it rythmically through dance for example if you have ever traveled across the country, you find people winnowing millet but do it on dance as they sing. You find people grinding Millet through music. As somebody grinds millet, they are moving to Rythm. The only thing to do now is to give it prominence, let it grow, let it develop to the level where everybody can be able to appreciate it and understand that through dance, you can earn a living, through dance, you can generate resources.” He said
Pictures: Dance groups entertain the audience during the celebrations
