#mainframedancecrew

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.  Both are varsity students. Zach is a second year law student at the University of Namibia and is 19 years old. While 20-year-old Shanwell is studying pre-engineering at Namibia University of Science and Technology. The duo has set them to releasing creativity in any way possible. Last weekend I paid the guys a visit at Zach’s condo and had an awesome interview that left me feeling more creative than I had always thought.

When I asked them how they met Zach had this to say, “We met on the first day of school, in high school; He (Shanwell) was the first friend I had in school. We were standing in a queue at an assembly point, I am not sure if he was standing in front or behind me, I don’t still remember how he conversation started but ever since we have just gelled.” Shanwell jokingly interjected immediately and told his version, “He poked me….and I was like yoh whats up…my name is sticks bruh…we are at the same school now let’s be friends.” The duo seems to hold their relationship not only as a friendship but as a brotherhood. Since then they have stuck together and discovered their ability to entertain and create together.

Mainframe

They began dancing in school; they would dance at school with a bunch of other guys for fun and also participated in dancing competitions at school. They then furthered their interests after school, however the group started with seven members and since then they have witnessed people leaving the group and new members being integrated. The two have stayed constant, shot videos and would practice at Shanwell’s house. After discovering that people keep coming onto the group and leaving the group they decided to nullify the vacant positions and the group would now stay as a duo. However they have collaborated with other dancers for video shoots. They entered a school talent show while they were 12th graders and won the competition.

Young, Black and Gifted, @DavidWamambo with @Mainframe_Dance_Crew

The two started a Facebook page and they would post pictures of themselves dancing however one audience had an eye on their talent and happened to be an armature film director who wanted to develop his skills.  They began shooting videos and the  audience received them well.  We now shoot the videos ourselves now, we borrow our shooting equipment from friends and we shoot the videos ourselves, for example the Parliament Gardens video, I would dance and Shanwell would film me and I would do the same if he was supposed to be in the scene.

@Mainframe_Dance_Crew

The name mainframe is intriguing, so I had always wondered how they came up with the name; Shanwell says that, “the name actually came from one of the ex-members, after the group in its infant days had decided to brainstorm on names, everyone else had suggested names such as robotics, psychotics and all…but we wanted something energetic and memorable and Mainframe happened to be that name. The group in reality is energetic and memorable. The name was well suiting for their art and personalities. When I asked them of the emotions they give off individually when dancing, the bromance in them was fired up, Shanwell declined to describe the emotions he gives off, but opted to describe Zach’s. Shanwell therefore describes his co-dancer not only as an energetic and explosive but a dancer who interprets the music; you can feel the music in the energy he gives off. On the other hand Zach believes that his partner is rooted and allows his body to mimic the music.

@DavidWamambo meets @Mainframe_Dance_Crew

On inspiring other people they believe that they took a leap of faith to decide to take their art to stage and allow the world to say it. A leap of faith because other people may not be aware of what comes out of the experience of entertaining people, Zach says” We are blessed enough to have that courage to put ourselves out there, because creative arts is more than an objective, it is a dream and people should just live it out.”

@Mainframe_Dance_Crew

When it comes to taking up dance as a profession, they both have desires to open up platforms for other artists of all sorts to put themselves out there. Shanwell points out that, “Even if we start practicing in the different fields we both are studying for, we would like to branch out and open up opportunities for creative artist of all sorts, we hope to open up a studio Mainframe Studio or something of that sort so that we nature and release all sorts of creativity in various ways.

@Mainframe_Dance_Crew

MAINFRAME participated in the Namibia Talent Show at the National Theater of Namibia, and came third in the competition. The duo has mixed feelings on the show, primarily because the show had originally been planned to be aired on national television as well as price money for the runner ups had been promised, however due to lack of sponsorship and license disagreements the show could not have been as big as it could have. Despite the obstacles MAINFRAME seem to be in agreement that they are in it for the passion, in their own words, “If we upload a video on the internet and people like it…then we are good.”

Collectively as a group they are fans of  Les Twins, Ian Eastwood, Non-Stop and Choreo Cookies. I swear to you they gave me a playlist to post but some how the device did not record that part  during our interview. They will give us another one next time we future them. But I hope that their story gave you hope and energy to go on, in the words of MAINFARE hope is, “what everyone hold on to when everything is about to hit the fan, it is what makes you stronger than the obstacles you encounter…”

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