Uganda, April 14 -- "I am a professional dancer; that is what I do for a living," Nabaggala will likely tell you if you are meeting for the first time.

Like many creatives in Uganda, she has probably been asked numerous times what she does for a living. And probably when she says she is a dancer, they ask what she really does, and then she has to clarify that dance is what she really does.

Of course, the face of the creative economy has been changing in Uganda for years. Because of music success, being a musician is suddenly not as far-fetched, and thanks to Pearl Magic, being an actor no longer sounds as crazy, but then there is dance.

Technically, it is one of the most misunderstood forms of expression; for many, it is the hobby of a...