Young ladies who can dance or love to dance will soon have a big platform to showcase their abilities as the search for an African dance diva begins to roll out by way of the Dance Queen Africa contest. Word is already out about the Ghana edition of the contest and registration is in progress for the first audition scheduled to come off at the Erata Hotel in Accra on July 11 and 12. Dancers in Kumasi will have their turn on July 18 and 19. Sixteen finalists will then be taken from the two auditions and they will battle it out in August for two of them to represent Ghana at the Africa final to be held in Nigeria in December. The competition is open only to residents of Ghana who are 18 years old or above at the time of entry. Only solo dancers are eligible to participate. Contestants in the Ghana finals of the Dance Queen Africa contest are expected to create innovative fusions of contemporary dance types from genres including highlife, hip-life, hip hop, ballet, flamenco, salsa, tap, dancehall and traditional. Young females form the bulk of dancers featured in music videos and stage performances. There is a lot of hip-shaking and nice bodies are sometimes stripped down to almost nothing as they shake their booties like no one is watching. Despite the suggestive moves and seductive gyration, these dancers are not well remunerated. They receive next to nothing. The franchise owners of the Dance Queen Africa contest in Ghana, TV Content, say they are aware of the poor deals offered the young ladies and the contest partly aims at helping to rectify that. “Dance is a very beautiful art and it is always delightful to see a good female dancer in action,” a source at TV Content said. “It’s high time we got real dance back on the stage. Dancers and choreographers must be treated and recognised as main acts and not background artistes.” The winner of the Ghana edition will be sponsored to participate in the Dance Queen Africa Reality Show International stage performance and also secure music video deal apart from a GH¢3,000 prize. She will also get a dance wardrobe including two pairs of professional dancing shoes. The second to eighth-placed dancers will all get appreciable prizes. Source: Daily Graphic