Glamour at dance fest
Jul 14, 2008
IT was a celebration of culture, thanks to Kika Troupe which came up with a noble idea of producing a sound that can be defined as Ugandan. That is a difficult task in a country with over 50 tribes.
By Emmanuel Ssejjengo
IT was a celebration of culture, thanks to Kika Troupe which came up with a noble idea of producing a sound that can be defined as Ugandan. That is a difficult task in a country with over 50 tribes.
The anticipation of listening to a combination of drum sounds from several parts of the country was high. But it is mainly the white community who turned up for the event at the KCC Lugogo Grounds last weekend. The show was powered with about 30 drums of various types and sizes. However, the lack of “funeral†sounds at the event was misguiding. The directors should have referred to it as a Ugandan celebration and not Ugandan rhythm.
The troupe went beyond borders by playing beats from Burundi. And without instruments to provide the key like the xylophone, the troupe fell back on the long drum that was only an accompaniment.
At the end of the long day, visual art that should have taken centre stage painfully lost out to music and acrobatics.
At one point, the sound nearly lost out to presence when 11-year-old David Nyonyintono beat the small drums with a combination of rhythms from the north and east on the backdrop of Burundian drums.
Kika Troupe first tested the sounds on home turf. It has been invited to attend the Oslo World Festival in November and will also perform at the Feste Pan African Dance festival in Kigali later in the month.
IT was a celebration of culture, thanks to Kika Troupe which came up with a noble idea of producing a sound that can be defined as Ugandan. That is a difficult task in a country with over 50 tribes.
The anticipation of listening to a combination of drum sounds from several parts of the country was high. But it is mainly the white community who turned up for the event at the KCC Lugogo Grounds last weekend. The show was powered with about 30 drums of various types and sizes. However, the lack of “funeral†sounds at the event was misguiding. The directors should have referred to it as a Ugandan celebration and not Ugandan rhythm.
The troupe went beyond borders by playing beats from Burundi. And without instruments to provide the key like the xylophone, the troupe fell back on the long drum that was only an accompaniment.
At the end of the long day, visual art that should have taken centre stage painfully lost out to music and acrobatics.
At one point, the sound nearly lost out to presence when 11-year-old David Nyonyintono beat the small drums with a combination of rhythms from the north and east on the backdrop of Burundian drums.
Kika Troupe first tested the sounds on home turf. It has been invited to attend the Oslo World Festival in November and will also perform at the Feste Pan African Dance festival in Kigali later in the month.