Last night I left the house (goodbye, Scrubs, I’ll miss you so) and went to the Sharing Youth Center in Nsambya for Breakdance Project Uganda’s Hiphop For a Cause show.
I say this as only a white girl from the midwest can: How. Cool.
Breakdance Project Uganda was founded by Ugandan hiphop artist Abramz several years ago to empower street kids, formerly abducted child soldiers and other disadvantaged children throughout Uganda using hiphop and breakdance. BPU offers free breakdancing classes to these children, giving them a positive means of expressing themselves and encouraging them to become future BPU teachers.
The Hiphop For a Cause performers ranged from Lyrical G, the hiphop winner of the 2006 Pearl of Africa Music awards, to a group of children from HEALS, an afterschool program in Gulu, to kids from the Kingship Orphanage in Kampala who had been training with LA-based hiphop choreographer Jessica Dexter.
Over 100 people attended the show, all proceeds from which will go into further Breakdance Project Uganda programming.
Abramz and his crew of mouthwateringly talented dancers offer classes at the Sharing Youth Center every Monday and Wednesday from around 5:00 to 9:00 PM. Classes are free and open to anyone who wants to learn.