‘Female dancers are not of loose morals’ says girls’ dance group Ragz

The Ragz is an acronym of our actual names when conjoined then we added a Z for finesse. 

We formed the group as we hail from the same hood Bamburi, Mombasa and when we discovered we all had a passion for dancing, we decided to form the group.

We have been dancing and offering choreography lessons for two years now since we started this journey.

What makes us different from other dancers is that we are the only other female dance group from Mombasa. Trust me, it takes a lot to raise and maintain a dance group. This has helped shape our brand in a different way because our uniqueness gives us an edge. We are also very professional.

For us, dancing is our career, it's our full-time job. We may have side hustles but dance is our main shot.

We do not have a dance style, we are creatives so every day we come up with new choreographed moves or improve on the existing ones just to be unique and unpredictable. We mix different styles, like Afro beats, hip-hop, traditional, salsa, and Zumba.

 We make money from dance by creating choreographic content which we share on our social media so people can see what we offer. That’s how we get called for gigs and we also get referrals from satisfied clients.

Our clients range from artistes who book us for live performances, and video shoots for their songs, to corporate events and weddings or any other festivities.

We have worked with a number of celebrities the likes of Akothee, Masauti, Tanasha Donna just to mention a few.

There is money in dance, however, we believe things can be better because this is one of the industries that is yet to be fully exploited and appreciated in Kenya.

Our major challenge is the stereotype we face from the Coastal community, as we are perceived as spoiled brats, and are judged and castigated for how we dress.

Some of the nasty comments we have received include “Who will marry women like you?” Which man would wish to be with girls who dress like you?” and such kind of misogynist assertions.

Oh! And by the way, we are all not dating and neither are we in a rush. For now, we are in a serious relationship with our dance.

Another challenge is that some people approach us promising us gigs only to realise they just want to sleep with us.

Despite that, we never turn away from any inquiry because in this entertainment industry you get to meet different kinds of people either with good or bad intentions and you can never know what they are really up to until you give them a chance. That’s the nature of this business.

We are young girls who understand what we signed up for and we respect our craft. We ensure we are never compromised. This has helped us ward off mischievous ‘clients’. 

Our goal is to change the naïve mindset of our Mombasa community in regard to the entertainment industry. We want to inspire fellow young girls to pursue their passion with conviction no matter the hurdles they encounter.