Wakiso Dance Kids revive Kakalabanda tale in new dance theatre show

What the report says

Batalo East and the Wakiso Dance Kids are bringing a piece of central Uganda’s boarding-school folklore to the stage with Kakalabanda, a 60-minute dance theatre production. The Independent Uganda reported that the show is built around the legend of a mysterious creature said to haunt school dormitories at night, with performances mixing traditional dance, contemporary and urban movement, theatre and music.

According to the report, the production will premiere at the Uganda National Theatre in Kampala on September 9, 2026, before a second performance at Kavumba Recreation Centre in Wakiso on September 12. The company says the work is meant to make older stories relevant to younger audiences while preserving them as part of Uganda’s cultural memory.

The article also says the production draws on a folklore figure known in some communities as Kakalabanda or nkalabanda, a story that became familiar in many boarding schools in central Uganda during the 1990s. Beyond the stage performances, Batalo East says it hopes to develop the piece into a touring production for schools, festivals and communities in Uganda and abroad, and to use it as a platform for mentoring young performers. The report notes that tickets cost Shs30,000 and that each show runs from 7:30pm to 8:40pm.