The much talked about dance reality show – Dance 234 has finally come to an end with winners emerging from the highly contested and widely viewed show. The show which aired on local and international television channels had been adjudged one of the most interesting shows on television in recent times, started airing on the 6th August, 2011 ended last weekend with celebration and prizes. The grand finale of the show which held at the KOGA entertainment centre, Oregun, Lagos attracted scores of fans, celebrities, family members of the contestants and associates as they came to cheer their loved ones to victory. 20 contestants made it to the KOGA house after undergoing rigorous auditions which held in Lagos, Abuja, Enugu and Benin.
After 13 weeks of intense competition, finally six contestants made it to the final which included Jane Chude, Bryan Peters, Unoma Onywekwelu, Bamidele, Uche Cosmos and Emmy, they had to slug it out for the grand prize of a car, N1,000,000 (one million naira) and a dance course abroad. It was indeed a night of glitz, glamour and style as the six contestants were made to perform individually and in groups, the judges – Preeye Yibowei the ever smiling and delectable Nigerian dance instructor, Brandiny of the Mask Dance Team and Maryanne had their hands full in the process of deciding the eventual winner. Bamidele and Jane did a couple routine, Emmy and uche did a blend of contemporary jazz while Bryan and Unoma stepped up their game as they performed to a love song.
After these exchanges of dance steps and extensions, it was time for the presenter to announce the winner of the competition after the judges had put their heads together. In 4th place was Jane and 3rd was Unoma . At this point, the studio was filled with tension as fingers were permanently crossed, apprehension heightened, eventually the winner was mentioned, Lo and behold, Uche emerged the winner of Dance 234, walking away with the highly coveted grand prize; a car, one million naira and a dance training abroad, while the duo of Bryan and Unoma walked away with N750, 000 and N500, 000 respectively. Bryan and Unoma also attracted a scholarship to study dance at the Society for performing Arts in Lagos for the duration of 3 semesters only.
The reality show was produced by Jemila Musa, who has been around the industry for a while when asked of the motive behind the reality show, she said ‘’most dancers in Nigeria are not appreciated, besides there are more reality shows in singing than dancing, so the aim behind Dance 234 is to give the contestants the needed exposure ‘’, She further added that ‘’the reality show will be a yearly event as the organizers are willing to make it an avenue where the quality dancers will be given the opportunity to prove their worth’’.
