Dancing with Shakira at World Cup was 'very, very, very, very, very good' - Ghetto Kids

What the report says

BBC Africa reports that Uganda’s Ghetto Kids dance troupe is celebrating what its members described as a life-changing appearance at the football World Cup final halftime show on Sunday. The young performers shared the stage with Colombian singer Shakira and Nigerian artist Burna Boy at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, during the match in which Spain beat Argentina, according to the BBC account. Ten-year-old Sierra summed up the experience as “very, very, very, very, very good.”

The children told BBC Newsday they were thrilled and nervous to perform before their largest audience yet, with 11-year-old Josephine saying she saw Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal. Their manager, Dauda Kavuma, said the group’s embrace with Shakira and Burna Boy at the end of the performance was spontaneous, not staged. He said the children reacted with jubilation when they learned they had been selected, especially because they had previously danced to Shakira’s “Waka Waka” on Britain’s Got Talent.

The BBC report places the performance within the group’s broader rise from Kampala. Kavuma, who lived on the streets as a child before becoming a teacher, founded the troupe to support children who were homeless or unable to pay school fees. The group gained international attention through viral dance videos, appearances in music projects including French Montana’s “Unforgettable,” and later performances on Britain’s Got Talent and America’s Got Talent.

Kavuma said the project now helps provide housing, food and tuition for children in Uganda. Despite the global exposure, the dancers said school remains central, with videos mainly filmed on weekends and lessons continued online when they travel. Sierra and Josephine both told the BBC they hope to become doctors while continuing to dance.