The inaugural Annual East African Dance Festival kicked off on Saturday with the opening gala at the Rwanda Revenue Authority grounds in Kimihurura, Kigali. This festival involves performances by dancers from Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), United States of America (USA) and United Kingdom (UK). All performances are free and open to the public.The event is being held in various venues around Kigali until Saturday, November 10.DRC’s K’Dance set the ball rolling with a blistering performance. The Congolese dance troupe exuded a genuine likability and spontaneous charm that knocked any barriers between them and the audience. Their style of music bridges cultural and generational gaps.K’Dance’s performance focused on how peace can contribute to changing of people’s lives and transform countries.Local troupe Angora N’shya performed at Maison des Jeunes in Kimisagara on Saturday, while Rwanda’s leading theatre group Mashirika and C’est Quoi Ton Histoire from DRC performed at the same venue yesterday. On Wednesday, the UK troupe will perform at Papyrus in Kimihurura. In an interview, Artistic director of Amizero Dance Kompanie who doubles as the director of the festival, Wesley Ruzibiza, told The New Times: "This is an opportunity that will bring us together in a way that will enable us to share and develop techniques through which we can contribute to stability, peace and development in our respective countries.”According to the organisers, most performances are about story telling, especially regarding the dark past experiences countries have experienced, steps taken to avoid such experiences and what is expected from the public in contributing towards stability and national development."We the performers, navigate, explore and invent a process of intellectual awareness in tandem with celebrating an imagined democratic space,’ said Juliet Omollo from Kenya.‘This is dedicated to ordinary but great voices of memory that collectively inspires a collaboration of our own intended voices of the 21st century breathing spaces,” she added.The festival is sponsored by Commonwealth Foundation in partnership with Papyrus Restaurant, Amizero Dance Kompanie and Institut français with the aim of promoting peace and relations among countries by sharing cultural values through music, dance and drama.