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Eleven years ago, I started organizing events. Since then I have touched nearly every part of the pipeline ideation, creation, design, production, post-production. I have been the volunteer nobody remembers and the lead event production manager everybody calls first. I have run small jams in half-empty rooms and bigger productions with real stakes attached. And if there is one thing that decade-plus has taught me, it is this: it is okay to step back. It is okay to let someone

Dear Uganda HipHop, we need to be intentional now, more than ever before. We are living through an incredibly sensitive moment in history, where two major evolutions are happening almost simultaneously: the Internet and Artificial Intelligence. Somewhere between these two revolutions, a new generation is being shaped faster than perhaps any generation before it. One year can now change everything how we learn, how we create, how we communicate, how we archive, how we distribu

Kigali Fashion week 2026 ( with The High priest of Sonic Shadows) For years, I have been trying to understand one question: What does a young artist need to know before exploring the world and navigating the many fields, channels, and opportunities within the arts? The answer changes depending on who you ask. Some will tell you to master your craft. Others will tell you to build networks, chase opportunities, or stay authentic. All of these matter. But there is one reality th

Floor Motion's KWO GULU 2026 Why Gulu Continues to Rise Through Arts, Culture, and Community There is something deeply powerful about the arts and culture sector that cannot be ignored: resilience. Not the kind of resilience that is spoken about in motivational speeches or development reports, but the kind that lives inside people, communities, and everyday survival. The kind built through consistency, shared experiences, and the determination to create despite limitations. F

For the longest time, I have remained deeply inspired, motivated, and emotionally tied to the development, growth, evolution, and success of dance in Uganda. In previous articles I have written and shared, I have continuously reflected on the dance scene, its movements, its possibilities, and its contradictions. And yes, here I am again, still writing about dance in Uganda. Maybe because dance itself refuses to stop speaking. Maybe because every generation keeps rewriting the

To understand how Uganda’s evolving copyright framework intersects with dance, I find it necessary to ground the conversation in real spaces, real communities, and real systems that already exist. For me, dance in Uganda has never been abstract it lives in institutions, on streets, in festivals, and within communities that have been building long before policy caught up. I often begin with Ndere Cultural Centre. Ndere represents one of the most structured and institutionalize

In many ways, every social entrepreneur begins with the same feeling: frustration mixed with imagination. Frustration with the systems that limit opportunity, and imagination about what could exist if someone simply decided to build it. Eonez Sneakers was born from that space. It began as one of the newest ventures I have created, but unlike many traditional business ideas, the vision was never just about making shoes. The goal was to create a sneaker brand that functions as

By Ricky Orenia In the first part of this reflection, I questioned whether a UGX 5 billion building is truly the solution to Uganda’s creative economy challenges. I argued that infrastructure without intelligence, without systems, and without cultural depth is simply concrete. Today, I want to go deeper not into buildings, but into mindset. Because the real infrastructure we lack is mental. If we were to look at our situation through the lens of someone with an extraordinary

By Ricky Orenia, Cultural Strategist Afro Break Uganda qualifier event organized by Skillz Dance Fest 2025. Photo by Remi Crag President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s recent commitment of UGX 5 billion to organized creatives marks an important moment in Uganda’s evolving economic narrative. For many within the creative sector, it is validation. For others, it is long overdue recognition. But beyond the applause, beyond the headlines, and beyond the symbolic weight of the announcem

Illustrated by Chaos ( Printed can be purschased via Shop Skillz ) Breaking Beyond Medals: Uganda’s Dance Scene Between Roots and the Olympic Spotlight The inclusion of breaking at Paris Olympics exposed something uncomfortable about Uganda’s dance scene. It has revealed how much of our confidence is tied to external validation. Breaking did not suddenly become important because it entered a global sporting arena. In Uganda, it had already proven its value long before the O

By Rique Orenia Bgril Mirembe at SKillz Dance Fest 2023 The mainstream dance economy today is fast, trending, flashy, and colourful. Everything moves quickly—from bookers to events, from rehearsals to shows, from promos to backstage, from wardrobes to music cues, from one contract to the next. It is designed to look exciting, aspirational, and rewarding. From the outside, it feels like momentum. From the inside, it often feels like pressure. And in all this speed, very few pe

By Rique Mocca Orenia Reflections on Foundation, Fusion, and the Future of Ugandan Dance I keep returning to questions of repetition, stagnation, and evolution in dance because I have lived inside these cycles for most of my life. For years, I have been involved in the Ugandan dance scene—not just as a dancer, but as someone who has watched systems form, repeat themselves, and resist change. I have trained, performed, organised, judged, mentored, and produced work across gene

Written by Ricky Orenia | Edited by Live Traces Consulting During election periods in Uganda, public debate often narrows to technology—biometric machines, digital voter registers, internet shutdowns—framed as neutral tools for efficiency, security, or order. Yet this focus risks missing a deeper truth: technology is not the economy, and connectivity is not the sole engine of national function. Recent estimates suggest that nearly 55% of businesses operating “online” do not p

By Rique Orenia I recently had the honor of participating in The Remix gathering—an intentional Hip Hop–centered convening that brought together youth, cultural workers, innovators, and community leaders to reflect, reimagine, and realign our collective future. More than a moment, the gathering became a mirror—revealing both the power we already hold and the responsibility we carry forward. I extend deep appreciation to the organizers—Bavubuka Dynasty, Bavubuka All Stars, and

Photo Credit: Skillz Dance Fest 2025 | BBoy Benja |GTA Crew | Shot by: Remi Carg Why Dancers in East Africa Struggle — And the Soul Train from an Event Organizer’s Perspective For the last 11 years , I have been organizing dance events in East Africa—from tiny local jams with nothing but a speaker and a carpet, to national festivals with lights, cameras, TV, engineers, budgets, contracts, and brand expectations. And if there is one truth I’ve learned, it is this: Dance in Eas

VIVA con Agua's DANCE 4 WASH COMPETITION 2025 As the world came together to celebrate Global Handwashing Day , Uganda was not left behind. For the past three years, Skillz Dance Fest and Street Anatomy International have joined hands with Viva con Agua Uganda to explore how dance can become a powerful model for social behavior change , promoting positive messages around Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) . Through Viva con Agua’s inspiring work—both in software (educ

When we speak of integration, the word often arrives heavy with promise: a vision of wholeness, of people or groups coming together to...

For the last 13 years, I have been organizing dance events in Uganda—ranging from state-funded programs to community-driven gatherings...

KUBASH DANCE INITIATIVE | HIPHOP THEATER NIGHT |PHOTO CREDITS - MARTINA ASTOLFI Last weekend, I found myself back in Kigali, Rwanda—a...

Photo by Remi Crag | Skillz Dance Fest The story of dance in Uganda is one of rhythm and resilience, of highs and lows, of promise and...