Dancing to stardom: Valentino Richard Kabenge is a Latin and ballroom dancer, actor, director and the founder and CEO of Val Rich Arts Limited. He is commonly recognised for his gripping dance moves in Rema Namakula’s Touch My Body music video and Winnie Nwangi’s Jangu. Like most young Ugandans, Valentino had the usual corporate dreams. He wanted to be a lawyer yet on the other hand, he also wanted to be a performing artist. As a young boy growing up in Kawuku Entebbe road, Valentino used to watch Nigerian movies on TV and realised that he wanted to be an actor.
“I was born and partly raised in Kyebando, a Kampala suburb by my aunt because my mother died when I was still a child, probably a year old. My aunt became my mother and treated me quite well. I always admired actors in Nigerian movies but I did not know where to start from to pursue that dream. When I dropped out of school in S.2 due to lack of school fees, I was forced to try out my luck as an actor. I auditioned for several acting roles at the National Theatre but was never selected,” Valentino Kabenge says.
In 2006, Valentino, as he is commonly known, decided to take the first step into the performing arts industry. He enrolled at Mariam Ndagire’s acting school. While there, he met a friend who took him to a social dance place called Lotus Mexicana on Sezibwa Road. At first, he did not want to go because he did not think dancing was something he wanted to take seriously.
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