At the competition, dancers go into the house to allow the smoking medicine to enter their bodies through the pores. D uring a match, two dance groups compete for the crowd at the same time. Each attempts to perform the most outrageous stunts to draw the rest of the spectators over. The crowd runs from one dance group to the other as the excitement builds and the cheers of the audience grow louder and louder. The winner is selected by judges based on the size of the crowd the dance group maintained during the competition.
Costumes are diverse and new innovations occur each year in the hopes of victory.
One famous dance family, the Lyakus, innovate new moves with each dance season. Hoja Lyaku, the family's grandfather, was a famous dancer of Bakomyalume. During a dance he would use large wooden figures, often with moveable arms and legs to parade in front of the spectators. The figures would often draw a large crowd because of their novelty and humorous moves. Hoja's grandson, Steven Lyaku, suggested that they no longer use the wooden figures.