24-YEAR-OLD DIANE IZERE has found her niche in Rwandan traditional art. She sings and dances in a traditional style and has trained different young people.
When she was young, Izere used to chant traditional songs with her family, especially her mother. She shares that it’s what boosted her love for Rwandan music and tradition.
"At the time, fame started me. Even in high school, I used to sing and play guitar whenever I was alone and would find myself creating sweet melodies. I knew that I could sing beautifully but I didn’t feel like exposing my talent,” she said.
Izere started singing professionally in 2019 after attending a friend’s wedding ceremony who requested her to sing.
She said that after singing, every wedding attendee commended her for her beautiful voice and outstanding talent. She decided to give it her passion a chance at life.
For her, traditional music is what comes easier to her compared to other music genres she tries to do. While in high school, she learned to play guitar and has since advanced her skills through watching daily tutorials on YouTube.
Tackling traditional dance, she said that she started learning about it in 2012 when she was in senior two at EAV, Bigogwe. Later when she joined Nyanza Technical School and joined the school’s traditional troupe, Inganji Ngali, where she enhanced her dancing skills and became its president after a year.
"At the time, I was good at dancing but was longing to be perfect. In 2016, after graduating, I took part in the national programme, ‘Itorero’, where I met other graduates and learned more about Rwandan culture. I decided to create a troupe by grouping youth who were interested in traditional dance and taught them some traditional dance moves,” she said.
"Later, I requested for space at our village office in Karenge Sector and they provided it. I started bringing in children and taught them how to dance. When my mother visited and realised how the troupe had grown, she decided to give us a big place for practice and kept supporting us especially in vocal practices.”
Izere left the troupe in 2016 to further her studies at IPRC Kigali in Electrical Engineering but she managed to stay in touch with visiting members in her free time. At college, she joined another dance troupe called Ingeli ya Beza.
While there, she says that she had a great coach who enabled her represent the troupe in an interuniversity competition that took place at Kigali Serena Hotel where they secured first place. After two weeks, she joined a giant troupe, Indangamirwa, where she amplified her dancing skills and reshaped her dancing career.
"The troupe I created became stronger and started receiving requests to perform at different events across the country. We also won a competition at sector level. However, due to Covid-19 restrictions, we are not operating physically, we now practice virtually, where members take videos of themselves dancing and share with us. We tell them what to improve as part of practice,” she said.
Izere recognises that her voice is unique and so is her music style because she sings like her. She does traditional style but uses a modern musical instrument like guitar.
She won the third place during the Rwanda Acapella Competition organised by HBS The Voice and was awarded $150 and a production deal. She was also a finalist in a singing competition organised by Capital Nation in 2020.
With different dance troupes like Ingeli ya Beza and Indangamirwa she has also won two traditional dance competitions.
She said that she usually performs at concerts, home parties, wedding ceremonies adding that she is inspired by artistes like Kamaliza, Cecile Kayirebwa and Clarisse Karasira.
She revealed that her aim is to create unique art for the purpose of making a better society. She is currently working with Recson Production for her music projects.
For more information, you can reach out Izere on Email: izerediane1@gmail.com, phone: 0781688163 or on social media: IG:@dianeizere, Twitter: Diane Izere, Facebook: Diane Izere.