Sakata Mashariki: Kenya’s The Crew – We have no competition in the finals

The Crew is one of the six teams which have made it to the finals of Sakata Mashariki Season 6 dance competition which airs every Saturday at 8 pm on Citizen TV.

The team, whose members hail from Makadara in Nairobi, spent time with Citizen Digital and shared their journey, highlights, expectations and future peer with this reporter.

Citizen Digital (C): How has the journey in Sakata Mashariki competition been?

The Crew (TC): Honestly, it has been so tricky! We have had a lot of ups and downs, but God will see us through. Hallelujah!

C: What are these ups and downs that you have experienced?

TC: One of the biggest up – or should I call it a highlight? We have made it to the finals – not many teams can do that considering we are the newest crew in the competition – it’s our first time to participate.

Another up – being featured on the leading TV station in Kenya every other Saturday is really humbling for us.

Now talking on our low moments in the competition, it was when we were awarded a score of five by one of the judges after putting in all the effort and coordination.

We felt like we had invested so much to be awarded a five!

C: What have you learnt in and about the competition?

TC: It is unpredictable: As you progress to the later stages of the competition, you make your performances better, become finer by avoiding making the mistakes you had made in the previous shows; but the scores keep on diminishing.

I guess it’s because it gets more competitive and the judges get stricter.

C: Which dance crew do you think will give you a run for your money?
TC: There’s only one team which is giving us sleepless nights.

That team of the babies; the newborn babies – it is known as The Crew! They are really badder than most and we fear them the most!

The remaining teams come second to The Crew. We know we are the best, and by putting God first in everything, we will make it!

C: I hear you speak of God, what inspires your team

TC: Just like you have said, it is God first, and then another team is also mentoring us – the DSI dance group; our bigger brothers and fathers.

Another big source of inspiration is the things we go through every other day in the ghetto.

We have seen most of our childhood friends being shot dead due to indulgence in crime, others losing their lives to drugs and so many other bad things.

So, we saw it good to make use of our God-given talent, instead of engaging in drugs and crime which will sooner or later kill us like they did our friends.

C: You are a group of six – how did you come together?

TC: I would say again it is because of God. We come from different areas in Eastlands, Nairobi. Not all of us are from Makadara – some are from Mbotela, Shauri Moyo, Jericho… but I think it’s because of our friendship and God’s mediation.

However, there are some of us who studied in the same secondary school – like two of us studied at Highway Secondary, and nurtured their talent there before joining with friends to form the team.

C: If you win the money, what will you do with it?

TC: This is something we had discussed earlier with the team.

If we happen to win the prize, we will use part of it to mentor other blossoming dance groups.

The other part of the amount we will use in investing our individual businesses after equitably sharing the money amongst ourselves.

Some of us are going to study and I think the money will help ease the burden of fee payment.

C: After Sakata Mashariki, what next for The Crew?

TC: We have a long way to go, but what we’d say is we are aiming to conquer Africa and the world.

We want to represent Kenya on a global platform when it comes to dance.