Can’t Dance Win at Just Dance

Sticky Posted by Meijin June 2, 2023 in Community

Say What!?!

Ayamba LitCast turned three in December 2022, and to celebrate, we held a Just Dance tournament. In fact, it was the first we’ve ever held in the game as up until this point, we’d restricted competitions in the title to day-long challenges. 

For the community of literary and art enthusiasts, Just Dance was nothing new to them. Since 2021 when the organisation began its monthly Meet & Greet event, VersusNG has been a loyal partner, hosting gaming sessions every time. Their game of choice, Just Dance. 

Jumping between different versions of the game at each event meant we could keep the community on its toes, unaware of the song list they’d find at the next meet. And so, we surprised them once more with Just Dance 2017 for the tournament.

Trailblazing in Twos

For the competition, we had all players form teams of two, setting a cap of 16 players (8 teams). The tournament began a team short but that didn’t cause any issues as seeding was done randomly.

Among the competitors were our longest running Champion, Yusra “Yusra” Ahmed of Team YuMi; Game Night @Fasaha winner Aisha of The A-Team; Ayamba’s man of many talents, Micheal “Mandrel Mykels” Olaniyi of The Ahmich; and IDC founder, Meshach Zamani of IDC Gaming. 

Anything You Say scaled through the first round without an opponent while The A-Team defeated The Ahmich. IDC Gaming also caused the first upset of the day by beating Team YuMi. In a surprise turn, Just Dance newcomers, Can’t Dance, defeated You Orleans in the first round and to the amazement of all, IDC Gaming in the second. 

Meanwhile, down in the losers bracket, The Ahmich and Team YuMi were back in form, defeating every opponent until they met. Former teammates Ahmed Giragi and Yusra now faced one another on different teams, leading to heated emotions but in the end, Team YuMi took the victory with the aid of Hauwa “Hallyummi” Ahmed. 

On a magical winning streak, Can’t Dance took out The A-Team to secure their spot in the Grand Finals. Unfortunately for fans of Team YuMi, the sisters failed to win the Losers Finals against their rivals The A-Team, securing third place instead. 

Determined to win, Aisha and Aisha had their run back against Can’t Dance in the Grand Finals, grooving to Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie. ” They had the game in the bag, or so everyone thought, until Khalid and Abdul schooled them on the art of belly dancing with almost a 1000 point lead. 

Dance Makes the World Go Round

The underdogs won the day with Can’t Dance’s performance during the tournament, earning them the lion’s share of the prize pool. The A-Team finished second with determination in their eyes while Team YuMi had already begun to analyse their matches after winning third place. 

It was an intense competition with the Ayamba LitCast community thrust into the fiery throes of esports. However, the most breathtaking thing about the event, despite Can’t Dance’s victory, was the impromptu dance-a-long that popped up after the award ceremony. High on the excitement of the evening, spectators and competitors alike began to fall into step to “Can’t Feel My Face” by The Weekend until there was a whole crowd dancing and having fun. 

The display of unity and camaraderie sparked the hope that maybe one day, dance could save the world.