Freestyle king Xallamo dances his way to the world stage

The winner of Namibia’s first-ever ‘Red Bull Dance Your Style’ freestyle street dancing competition, Zacharia Gariseb (29), popularly known as 'Xallamo', is getting ready to show off his moves in Zurich, Switzerland, in October for the international dance championship’s global final.

Born and raised in Tsumeb, Gariseb said his passion for dancing started early and was influenced by kung-fu movies like Snake in the Eagle's Shadow by Jackie Chan.

"That's where everything started."

Recalling the moment he was crowned the winner of the free-style one-on-one battle competition, Gariseb said the opportunity was something he had been waiting for his entire life. After hearing about the competition, he prepared to give it his all.

“I was so motivated because as much as my talent was good, I never showcased it on the right platforms since there are no opportunities in our country," he said.

"I danced on street corners to show my skills, which wasn't sufficient enough, but I always believed in my art," Gariseb said.

The 'Red Bull Dance Your Style' challenges street dancers to show off their freestyle moves without any prior knowledge of the music they'll be battling to.

Rather than technical judges scoring routines, it's the crowd that decides each winner, based purely on who wows them in the moment. The whole format is built around improvisation over rehearsed routines, forcing dancers to think on their feet and read the room as they go.

DJs keep things unpredictable by dropping unexpected tracks, so competitors never know what they're walking into.

Namibia's inaugural competition culminated at the national final on 22 August at The Loft in Windhoek, where the country's best danced it out in front of a live crowd for the chance to represent Namibia at the world final in Zurich.

No-holds-barred prep

Gariseb told tjil he rehearsed for nine to 10 hours every day to prepare, keeping his spirits high with the belief that his efforts would be rewarded. Before the dance-off, he told himself he had a good chance at the medal, convinced that God had seen his hard work and that he deserved it.

“This win is the biggest achievement of my dance career. Thank you to my group, Rhythm In Motion, and mostly my mother," he said.

Speaking about the intensity of the competition and facing other talented Namibian dancers in the 1v1 battles, Gariseb said the pressure was real. "The competition was very intense because every one that took part has a special gift from God, so for me, I didn't want to underestimate any of them."

He believed it was his time, but knew he still had to bring his A-game. "The efforts at training gave me a lot of confidence, therefore I knew I'd win the battle," he told tjil. "I always dreamed of moments like this, and I have sleepless nights lately because I can't believe it happened to me. Dancing on the world stage is going to open a lot of doors for me."

For him, the opportunity to show off his moves in Switzerland is not only about honing his own talent, but about meeting new people, creating new projects and growing as a dance artist through engaging with others, he said.

Gariseb also reflected on the challenges he faced while pursuing his passion, saying the criticism he received sometimes brought him to tears. "I cry sometimes because people always said things like I'm a crazy lunatic, I don't have a future, dancing has no money, go look for a job and all sorts of negative things."

But things have changed since his win.

"The same people that said I don't mean anything are encouraging me to dance today. It's so sad how people underestimate a gift you got from God, and I proved a point: my talent wasn't going to go unseen."

Gariseb thanked everyone who took part in the 'Red Bull Dance Your Style' competition for pushing him to his limits and giving him hope.

“Everyone of you guys pushed me to go to my limits, and it gave me the hope to do better. I love you guys; keep pushing harder," he said, adding: "My win is your win."

In a message to other artists, especially dancers, he said: "Dear black child, you know where you come from, and you know what you want to do."