19-year-old Grevis Kananura is a dancer living his dream. The self-taught performer started out in 2017 with a dance group dubbed “KDP Dance Crew” that he describes as the best crew ever. In 2020 he decided to go solo and challenge himself to improve his skills. “The group equipped me with values like unity, commitment and a passion for dance. They also trained me in improving my dance skills,” he says. He has choreographed and appeared in songs like, “So Fresh” by Uncle Austin, “Aba People” by Mbanda, “Zana” by deejay Lenzo, and many more. He is experienced in diverse dance styles such as afro-house, afro-dancehall, and hip-hop, and says that besides paying his bills, dance is a sport that helps him stay fit. He is, however, saddened by the fact that dance is not appreciated enough locally, yet it takes energy, determination, and hard work to perfect; just like other professions. His mother didn’t take it lightly after she was told he wanted to pursue dance. Like most parents, studying and getting a good corporate job was her prayer and dream for him. The youngster wasn’t ready to let what he loved slip away, he had to prove to his mother that dance is a valuable profession. He has since won a number of dance competitions and challenges that got him his mother’s support. In May 2020, he won Kax Nation’s Dance Challenge where he was awarded $300. He emerged second in an online afro-dance challenge that included many dancers all over Africa and walked away with $100 in February. Kananura also performed at the Kigali Jazz Junction in 2019 with Davis D and Joeboy. He looks up to Incredible Zigi, a Ghanaian dance artist and choreographer because of his great creative body movements, energy and lifestyle. Away from dance, Kananura is a computer programmer. He is yet to join university to pursue a course in IT. He spends most of his time shooting dance videos that he shares to gain followers. His main challenge is that dancers are paid peanuts for their hard work, and urges the youth who dream of developing their talent to ignore negative criticism and follow their path because even the celebrities they admire started from scratch. He is looking forward to starting a dance class to share his dance skills and experience with young talented dancers.
