1,491 contestants go for the broke as Glo Battle Of The Year Nigeria sets for next stage

Contestants from the regional auditions of the Globacom-sponsored Battle of the Year Nigeria have expressed their desire to represent the country at the finals of the international dance tournament in Japan.

Globacom had at a media session on Thursday apprised attendees with updates on the conclusion of regional auditions of the competition nationwide.

Globacom used the opportunity of the media parley to explain the next stages of the competition which include dance mentorship programme for all regional winners, as well as airing of the entire show early this year to all Nigerians, as well as the semi-finals and finals of the show which will also be aired live on television.

Thousands of dancers showed up at the various venues of the regional auditions to showcase their dancing skills.

A grand prize of N84 million and an opportunity to represent Nigeria at the global stage of the international dance competition are some of the juicy rewards, which the competition provides.

Fans and judges present at the various venues of the regional auditions were delighted with dexterous dance moves, with local and international dance legends such as Poco Lee, Pinky Debbie, Izzy Odigie, Big Flo, Maxbuck, Dunamis, Franc Okwara, JC Jedor, Poxy (Cameroon), Gidnasty (USA), Menno (Netherlands) and Manuela (Germany) all taking part. They are also set to feature at the next stage of the competition,” the company said.

At its inception, when the service provider firstly announced its mission statement: “To be the largest, most successful entertainment, information and telecommunications solutions provider, in Nigeria and Africa”, some cynics viewed it as one of the highfalutin propaganda of corporate organizations.

But after 18 years of sweeping the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) revolution; having Glo as the main catalyst and its ripple effects on the entertainment industry, the grains of optimism had been conspicuously differentiated from chaffs of pessimism. The vision of quintessential entrepreneur Mike Adenuga, Jr., has not only demystified ownership of mobile lines but brought life to the entertainment industry.

Speaking with The Guardian, Senior Manager Event and Marketing, Sola Mogaji, said: “Glo has invested in acting, football and this is a follow-up. Breakdance has been accepted as a sport in Olympics, though we don’t have any commitment to the Olympics, but the positivity is endless so, if we can harness this platform as we are doing now, and promote these talents, the sky will be the limit.

“This show will run for 13 weeks; if we are looking at it from project to project, we will be looking at close to seven months.

In total, we got 1,491 entries across the whole category.

A contestant at the Enugu auditions, Festus Kalu, said he was a first-time participant in a dance-focused contest. He was full of optimism that he would continue to pursue his dance career after the competition adding, “I saw the advert on Facebook and decided to come and try. I will love to open a dance studio if I win and pursue my dance career fully”.

Similarly, Mariam Lawal, who contested in Abuja noted that she had been dancing since she was ten. Lawal who is currently a dance instructor in a private secondary school in Kaduna, said: “It will be awesome to make it to the semifinals and finals in Lagos. If I win, I would use the money to help the less privileged”.

Also, Judah Wilson, a dance tutor and participant at the Lagos auditions, explained that it was his first time auditioning, though he desires to make it to the finals of the show in order to show his talent to the entire nation.