A group of young dancers from Uganda, called The Ghetto Kids, recently had the world mesmerized with their innocence and talent at the just concluded Britain’s Got Talent (BGT) competition. They went viral across the world after they earned a ‘golden buzzer’ on the international TV show, an action which automatically sends a contestant straight to the show’s final live rounds, and it had never been pressed in the middle of a performance before. This feat earned them instant fame on world stage.
The Ghetto Kids are part of a family of 30 plus children taken in by Kavuma Dauda. His foundation offers shelter, food and education to children from the streets of Kampala since 2007. TGK is an NGO with a mission of using music, dance and drama to help disadvantaged, street and orphaned children. It was registered as a non-governmental organisation in 2013 following the dance troupe’s unexpected success with the homemade dance video to Sitya Loss by Ugandan singer Eddy Kenzo. The foundation uses music, dance and drama to help children access a better life.
According to Kaguma, “When you dance, you forget that you didn’t eat. When you dance, you forget that you have lost someone”.
And so, what started as a community project to transform the lives of street children in Uganda through music and dance has gained global acclaim after the group made it to the finals of a the BGT talent show in the UK.
The group qualified as one of 10 finalists by winning the third semi-final of the competition, making history by becoming the first group to ever be awarded the Golden Buzzer mid-performance in the 16 years of the show broadcast by the ITV network.
The children returned to Kampala to a rousing welcome, where Ugandan’s turned up en-masse to welcome their latest heroes.
“I am incredibly grateful for the support from everyone during the competition. It was a dream to interact with some many people during our stay there. The judges liked our dance because it was ‘organic’, Kavuma was quoted to have said.
Ghetto Kids have attracted the attention of leading choreographers who have worked with them. They’ve won numerous international dance awards since 2015, including an Afrimma Award, an award from the Recording Industry Association of America and a YouTube Creators Award. They also performed at the men’s football World Cup in 2022 and met football stars such as Neymar, Aguero, among many others.
Ghetto Kids first achieved global recognition in 2017 with their dance video to the Afro house song Marimba Rija by Angolan musician Dotorado Pro. With steps by the internationally acclaimed Rwanda-born choreographer Sherrie Silver, the video reached 25 million views at the time.
Another video that defines their unique character was recorded in 2021, set to Laissez Passer (Let Them Pass), a hit by Congolese musician Diblo Dibala. The song is a fusion of soukous and coupé decalé. Soukous – also known as sakis – is a dance music genre derived from the Congolese rumba and popularised in the 1980s. Coupé decalé is a form of popular dance and music that was created in Paris by a group of young Ivorians in the early 2000s.
The kids have also featured in Nigerian dance videos, especially the one by Eltee Skhillz.
What makes them unique
The combination of tradition and innovation is perfectly mastered by Ghetto Kids. Their iconic moves reflect the flux of artistic and cultural influence that exists between sub-Saharan African countries.
The group is also aware of the power of both displaying and dispelling stereotypical images of Africa through surprising and funny interpretations of their influences. The iconography of the traditional African village, of rural landscapes and even of African swag (dressing in fancy hats and jackets) are used to propose their own attitude towards life.
Why they matter
Ghetto Kids founder Dauda has often spoken of being a street kid himself, unable to afford to go to school. A stranger funded his education, and he promised himself he’d do the same for others; he started his foundation after graduating as a maths teacher.
Dauda’s mission takes on particular importance in Uganda, a country that has struggled for decades with civil wars where children have been victims of unstable political conditions as well as abduction and abuse from militant groups like the Lord’s Resistance Army and where malaria, respiratory infections and Aids have ended many young lives.
In this context, keeping children visible is also a strategy to protect their lives, to make them count, to stimulate their growth and education, to repair the violence of the past and to denounce their social conditions.
Additional information from news24.com
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