The National Battle of Cameroon takes place this year in a context of Covid-19, hence the digitalization of its activities during the competition.

Dance is the expression of the body through the gestures and the creative capacity of its author to adapt to it. Dancing rhymes unquestionably with escape, fusion, emotion and action. The National Festival of Urban Dances "Battle National Cameroon" (BNC) is one of the direct expressions of this rhythmic and cadenced artistic tangle.

In this year 2020, this festival presented by Horizons Cultures, is in its seventh edition in Cameroon. The theme for this competition is: "Urban dances, a challenge of national integration, in the face of rising tribalism and violence in urban areas".

It will take place from September 7 to October 25, 2020 in Yaoundé. This festival is a platform to highlight the dancers and also to highlight the heritage and cultural aspect throughout the national territory.

The National Battle of Urban Dances in a recreational phase

The particularity of this 7th celebration is the digital aspect. However, the digitalization of the BNC is conducted with online activities such as competitions and workshops, exchanges among others. On the other hand, one of the innovations will also be that this dance festival will take place during 7 weeks.

Following the Coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19), the castings will all take place online through the festival's Facebook page, and candidates will send in their videos which will be voted on and judged by a professional jury panel.

These measures are taken in order to avoid direct contact and so that the principle of social distancing is not disrupted, given the movements and swaying of the hips that most battle dance groups make. Protective measures to fight against the spread of Coronavirus will also be respected, with the obligation to wear a protective mask and the permanent control of the temperature during physical encounters.

A 7th edition focused on innovation

The places assigned for this celebration were chosen for their availability to receive the groups and the jury. They are the CNJC (National Youth Council of Cameroon), the Goethe Institute Kamerun, the Kyriakides Park, the Case of Arts in Yaoundé, BNC and Bimstr.

The activities will be subdivided between lecture-debates, HC Awards, dance workshops, E-Battle, a mural fresco (Graffiti), Champion's Night and Live Music (MC Latysha and DJ Shaku).

The dance workshops will include disciplines such as Popping, Hip Hop, Krump and House. The public will be able to see the dance competitions live on Facebook and will be able to vote for their favorite band. The jury will be made up of professionals from the Dance and Urban Arts communities, whose details on the names and respective disciplines will be given at the appropriate time.

This is because it is crucial to have a professional look at all competition performances.

For the promoters of this festival, the plans for the future, despite the Coronavirus pandemic, is to position Cameroonian urban dancers on the international and pan-African scene, through the partnerships they have with several other partner competitions outside Cameroon (South Africa, Senegal, Germany).

Source: blastingNews