Kampala benefit dinner
Some of my fellow home-members and I were hired for one dance routine at a fashion show to be held in the city. The elite of Kampala were there, paying a considerably steep price for the dinner program—a benefit-fundraiser. Kampala being such a small town, I already knew most of the "models" and performers. Everyone was laid-back with each other. If anyone tried to put on a prima Donna air, it was only funny….
The event featured Indian fashion—one of the most beautiful in the world, thinking my opinion. Our dance routine was close to the end of the evening; the opening of the event was typically late, so I had plenty of time backstage to wrestle my stage-fright. Not that I’m ever scared on stage, but this time was different. I’d had to learn the dance routine in two days. All the other dancers knew it already the month before. I hadn’t had time to learn it, but since we were only performing once tonight I’d decided to use my spare time to make sure I had the moves down.
The other thing is that after we’d put the dance together, we went to rehearse on the stage a day before the event. We discovered to our dismay that our stage was a thin catwalk, meaning we had to re-do the entire formation, and that was crazy. Humor and an air conditioning kept us sane though, and by the night of the fashion show we were psyched. I asked the coordinator if I could put our brochures on each table along with my art-exhibition advertisement posters. She said of course. I scanned the crowd for familiar faces. I knew quite a few of them, this being the small town it is. Half an hour was spent chatting with people, explaining our missionary work, and that the dance was to raise funding for our volunteer projects etc. When our cue was called two hours later, we hit the stage with full energy. This was a miracle in itelf as none of us were very self-assured. The crowd was entirely helpful, going wild with the popular modern Indian number. By the end of the song the room was alive and pulsating. Over dinner, we were greeted warmly by old and new associates. In between bites of food, we answered more questions and talked with friends. It is becoming “the word on the street” that no Indian party or show is complete without our group—the Radioactive dancers. We thank God for helping us achieve that.
Afterwards, Tina and I were invited to an after-party. the theme was "Grease" and everyone had come in 50’s get-up. It was a complete culture change. The crowd here was almost all muzungu (foreigners) and the music was what we’d grown up on–all that old stuff. We danced the night away, and again met loads of friends. I told you this was the town where everyone knows each other and their uncle’s brother… I spoke with a man who wanted to feature us in the monthly guidebook for foreigners. He asked me to write an article about our trip to the North to the remote tribes. I agreed to write something as soon as possible.
All’s well that ends well. All in all, a fantastic day!