Dance a medium to break down stigma, and encourage open discussions about HIV and social issues, says Sakhrie
KOHIMA — The grand finale of the Dance Off 3.0, a national level dance competition, was held at imagi.LAND in Kisama on Friday. Dancers from across the country took part at the competition.
For Solo Dance, Sunny Singh emerged as the winner was the winner. Kyibashree was awarded runner-up, Debojit AKA Xaiko won the 2nd Runner-up, The Brothers Crew won 3rd runner-up and Reshab Sharma won the 4th Runner-up.
The winner received INR 25,000 sponsored by Nagaland State Aids Control Society, while INR 15,000 sponsored by FOOD BALACE was awarded to first runner-up, INR 10,000 sponsored by TaFMA was awarded to 2nd runner-up, INR 5000 sponsored by Trionix Dance Studio was awarded to 3rd runner-up and INR 3000 sponsored by TaFMA was awarded to 4th Runner-up.
For 1 vs 1 Rep Your Style Battle, Subham aka Crazy Skull emerged as the winner while Roshan Rai won the runner-up totle. The winner received an amount of INR 10,000 sponsored by TaFMA while runner received INR 5000 sponsored by The Florist Hub, Kohima.
Judge of both categories -- Open Dance Competition and Rep. Your style Battle -- was artist Nimble Funk from Varanasi.
Metevinuo Sakhrie, Joint director, IEC and MS, Nagaland State Aids Control Society Kohima, while gracing the occasion said the young dancers, artists, and change-makers from various districts and other states of the country, are the driving force behind creating a brighter, healthier future for the community.
Dance, as an art form, has the power to transcend languages, cultures, and geographical boundaries. It can evoke emotions, spark conversations, and inspire change. Dance forms such as flash mob activity in public places, schools and community events helps to convey important messages about social issues including the HIV prevention, Sakhrie shared.
It can be used as a medium to break down stigma to promote safe practices and encourage open discussions about HIV and social issues.
As per NACO HIV estimates 2023, Nagaland has the second highest adult HIV prevalence rate of 1.37% (15-49 years), the highest being Mizoram state.
Since last year, NSACS has been utilizing flashmob dance form to create awareness about HIV and STI, especially among the youth, Sakhrie shared.
This year, it engaged Red Ribbon Club members in 25 colleges in 7 districts to perform a total of 51 flashmob to create HIV awareness in their respective colleges, market areas and during events. Through this activity we have been able to reach over 19,000 people, she said.
She urged the younger generation to avoid risky behaviours by staying informed, getting tested for HIV, while avoiding substance abuse and injecting drug use and to practice safe sex by using condoms.
Project Director of TaFMA, Hovithal Sothu, was the chief patron of the competition.
The competition was managed by Nagaland Dance Fiesta.