Pot dancing taking Flavia Nakate places

Flavia Priscilla Nakate is a multi-talented student earning from different crafts in Uganda and abroad.

She is a pot dancer, gymnast, acrobat, hairdresser and tailor.

The Senior Six vacist is also an instrumentalist; good at the violin and guitar.

Nakate is warming up to join the university this year to pursue a bachelor of Music, Dance and Drama.

But above all, pot dancing is taking her places. With this, she balances 10 pots or more on her head while dancing or playing football.

She has performed at various events around East Africa and beyond, travelled to Canada more than 10 times, and performed at international functions.

Alongside that, Nakate, 23, trains children to do gymnastics, contemporary ballet, acrobatics, hairdressing, pot dancing and tailoring in 20 schools as well.

Each school pays sh400,000 for ballet dance, which is usually performed at end-of-year concerts. The training takes a few weeks. Nakate also offers private lessons at sh20,000 per hour.

On how she started, she says it is a long journey that kicked off when she was in Primary Three.

She dreamt of being a dancer and just as fate had it, around that time, a dance group started practising in their neighbourhood in Kyengera, a suburb of Kampala.

Nakate would go there to stare and copy the dances.

This was the late Moses Kawooya’s Sanyu African Music and Dramatic Society group. Kawooya, a popular dancer and entertainer, died in 2023 after a long illness.

Back to Nakate’s journey, whenever she returned home, she would practise what she copied and after some time, Kawooya opened the group to young dancers, giving Nakate a chance to join. More luck was on her side; one of the lead dancers, Winifred Nakimuli, warmed up to her and took her on as her own.

“Aunt Winnie trained me how to dance and many other things about life,” she says.

Wherever the group went, Nakate was there; at weddings, introduction ceremonies, and corporate functions. She did not earn a salary, but the tips she got from the audience motivated her to keep going. Then, she was a pupil of Mugongo Primary School in Kyengera.

With time, Nakimuli took her along to the private events where she performed. And before she knew it, she had mastered 15 cultural dances from the different regions of Uganda.

Her turning point

Throughout her primary school, Nakate always stood out in the MDD competitions. She says she would participate in all activities even those she knew nothing about. She would practise for hours at school and home ensuring that on the day of the competition, she had mastered all the moves.

Good enough, her teachers supported her.

Also, at St Catherine Secondary School, where she attended her O’level, she was active in the inter-house competitions and she won several awards.

However, before that, one day, while in Primary Six, Nakate performed at an event and was spotted by James Mulindwa, a teacher, and through him, she joined Pearl Troupes Uganda.

Things got much better.

The director, Julius Ganantawa, became a father to her. He trained her in more dances including pot dancing.

“Uncle Ganantawa also became a guardian angel, just like Auntie Winnie. He cleared part of my school fees from Primary Six all through to Senior Four,” she says. But also, Nakate’s parents; Christine Nakafeero and Robert Ssesanga supported her amidst financial constraints. They ensured she was in safe hands and that she remained in school.

Growing up

Nakate grew up in a large family and she says, life was difficult. Much as her parents were loving and supportive, they struggled to provide for their children. There were times she sat at home for days waiting for school fees.

She says the hardships shaped her into a disciplined, resilient and creative girl.

She was determined to excel on both ends; in academics and pot dancing. Before Ganantawa took up the responsibility of paying her school fees, Nakate says she paid it herself using the tips she collected at the different functions.

Covid-19 strikes

All was well for Nakate, but the COVID-19 lockdown happened, forcing the Pearl Troupes to close. One of its members David Kasasa formed Mwenya Cultural Troupe and invited Nakate, but it also closed after a few months.

“I decided to go solo and continued training, but with small white buckets filled with sand. I did not have money to buy pots,” she recounts. Fast-forward to 2022, when schools opened, Nakate joined Cambridge Secondary School for her A’level.

She chose the school for prioritising talent development alongside academics. Indeed, she says, this was her turning point. Pot dancing saw her through the competitive auditions. Immediately, she joined Suubi Fusion Troupe in the school. It had talented dancers, singers and debaters, among others.

Through this club, students get an opportunity to travel to different countries under the school’s exchange programme.

This is how Nakate has managed to travel to Canada 10 times and is still counting.

They interact with Canadian students; dance, sing and participate in debates. Last year alone, she travelled four times. She also performed at different international events like the Black history month.

Achievements

“I come from a humble family and this alone challenges me to work hard and turn our fortunes around,” Nakate says when asked what keeps her grounded.

She also ensures to dress decently, trains relentlessly and keeps perfecting, the reason she is always booked.

But also, at Cambridge, her teachers ensured her craft did not sway her from academics.

Nakate has made a name and is testimony that once supported, young people can achieve their dreams.

“Aside from saving, I also help out my siblings with school fees and home maintenance,” she says.

Besides, Nakate doesn’t worry about looking for a job because she is already self-employed.

She also works as an assistant trainer at Cambridge SSS under her mentor, Jonah Tugume, who has held her hand through thick and thin.

“I have learnt from Uncle Jonah that I don’t need money, but discipline and connections to achieve some dreams. He guides me as a father and friend,” she says.

Nakate also hails her other mentors who have come through for her during the tough times.

The list has Winifred Nakimuli, James Mulindwa and Julius Ganantawa, her parents, David Kasasa and director Henry Lukenge, who opened her doors to Canada.

Nakate leverages her social media platforms (Pots G UG) to market herself and get clients.

Prospects

Ten years to come, Nakate sees herself training pot dancing in more schools countrywide and abroad. She also wants to inspire dancers from different continents after which, she will organise a concert and bring all of them together in Uganda, something that will market the country.

To her, the world should appreciate that pot dancing was invented in Uganda just like the River Nile starts here and flows out.