The Namibian Annual Music Awards (NAMAs) recently held auditions for dancers to form part of the performances set for this year’s edition of the awards. From the six clips that were uploaded on MTC’s official Instagram account, only one dancer auditioned on a Namibian song. That worries me. However, I didn’t attend the auditions, so I could be wrong in assuming that, that was the actual picture of the whole affair.
Do the dancers who made the final cut understand that they’ll be backing Namibian musicians? Do these dancers understand that they’ll be backing Namibian musicians on Namibian songs? I’ve been following the dancing scene this year and honestly, the dancing scene lacks originality. 
The majority of dancers that are trending on social media have an excess of South African, Nigerian and international dance moves. Career back-up dancers to Namibian musicians are also guilty of lacking originality. Career back-up dancers to Namibian musicians are guilty of having an excess of South African, Nigerian and international dance moves in their choreography. So, if they can get away with doing the “vosho” or “shoki”…why can’t dancers who made the final cut to back up musicians at the NAMAs, right? 
Dancing has always been an integral part of the overall presentation of the NAMAs. In the previous editions of the NAMAs, dancers have always added that first-class dimension to the night. I don’t think anyone will dispute the fact that the dance element is important to the showpiece. 
However, because the platform is so big…why not use the opportunity to spearhead original Namibian dance moves?  The platform after all is meant to celebrate Namibian excellence, isn’t it? So, use the opportunity to create and launch new and original Namibian dance moves. 
I’ve long said on this platform that we lack a distinct identity on the international stage as Namibians. So much so that we think it’s okay to copy exact dance styles and moves from South Africa and Nigeria. Use the platform to breathe a new cool into our own. Use the platform to inspire the rest of the country into trusting our own. 
We’ve such a diverse setting in Namibia. Allow our diversity to inspire you into creating original Namibian dance moves. Some might think that this is a petty issue. If that’s the case, do this…analyse the videos posted on the MTC official Instagram account. You’ll see that the six dancers actually lack originality. Most of their moves are South African, Nigerian and internationally influenced. 
These are young dancers. Young minds who in the next 10 years will be gatekeepers. If these future gatekeepers can’t be original now, what do you think will be the case 10 years from now? It’s deep. We need originality and we need it now.    

Until the next loop, we say “GMTM”!
NSK is a professional MC. For bookings, email naobebsekind@gmail.com
@naobebsekind (twitter)