Great traditional performances and jokes at ‘Beautiful People’ launch

Kigali was home to the best local and Ugandan traditional and cultural music troupes Inganzo Ngari and Ndere troupe, as the two popular troupes performed at Kigali Serena Hotel, last Friday.Ndere troupe was the first on stage, with stunning female and male dancers wearing traditional attire. The dancers entertained guests with high-energy performances and beautiful sounds of drums. The troupe’s dance routines included contemporary performances from West, Central and West Nile regions of Uganda. With the class of Ndere troupe, you expect never to be disappointed and indeed the instruments called, “Sound of Adingo” moved the crowd. Apart from the group’s incredible performances, those who attended the event will live to remember the funny jokes made by Ndere troupe’s founder, Stephen Rwangyezi. His jokes which mainly focused on Uganda’s diverse culture and Idi Amin that made people laugh all the time.After his jokes, female dancers from the troupe claimed the stage and they danced to the, “Sound of Adingo” that comprised of a number of music instruments including, xylophones, drums, adungus, flutes, and many others. The last dance routine from the Ugandan troupe was from Western Uganda, which the ever funny Rwangyezi introduced as the dance that signifies love. According to Rwangyezi, love was discovered in Bunyoro on the slopes of Mt. Rwenzori.When the Ndere troupe was finally left to go and prepare for their final performance that was scheduled later that night, there was a raffle of business cards that had been collected from people who attended the show.During the raffle, the lucky ones won various goodies, including a one month’s Spa treatment at Kigali Serena, one month gym treatment at Kigali Serena Hotel, Kigali-Entebbe air tickets by Air Uganda, one month Spa treatments at Country Inn and many other gifts. The raffle session was conducted by MC Lion Manzi. After presenting the items won during the raffle of business cards, Rwanda’s Inganzo Ngari took to the stage, with a drumming session that involved many tricks and movements from the drummers who took turns on the big drums before them.The second performance from the troupe was done on a stage that had an African setting as the dancers emerged to the stage from a traditional hut set on the stage. The crowd did not only appreciate the creativity but also the performance.Their third item saw a group of over 20 ladies, all donning traditional outfits – Imishanana and entertained the crowd to Rwanda’s rich traditional dances. And when they left they were escorted by a thunderous applause from the crowd.But that was not the end of the applause because the male dancers, Intore, who immediately joined the stage were also welcomed by loud rounds of applause as they did many dance tricks found of Intore dancers.A few minutes after 10p.m, Ndere troupe’s Rwangyezi returned with his humorous jokes. This time, he joked about poetry, saying that African poetry is the core of what Americans call rap music today.While a number of Ndere members recited a couple of African poems, they were joined by drummers, African music instruments and some dancers who danced to the poems and sound from the instruments.When the poetry session was over, Rwangyezi introduced the troupe’s next performance, saying he was dedicating it to all the people in the audience from the ‘developed’ world. It was a dance from Northern Uganda.After the performance, a DVD with six dances by the Ndere troupe was auctioned for $260, while that of Inganzo Ngari was auctioned for $550.Inganzo Ngari took on the stage for their last routine of the night and just like their counterparts from Uganda, they had kept the best performance for the last. The beautiful ladies who started danced with their arms raised and waists shaking while they moved around the stage.The male dancers followed suit with a terrific performance but it didn’t last long as the girls came back on stage this time dancing with small traditional baskets balancing perfectly on their headsSince “Beautiful People” is a company concerned with a number of arts, music and dance were given a short break for some art creations on display in the Kigali Serena hall by local artists to be auctioned.Dennis Karera, the president of Rwanda Hotels, Restaurant and Bar Association (RHRBA), was called upon to unveil an art piece that was going to be auctioned. The art piece that turned out to be a painting of President Paul Kagame was auctioned for $1000 and won by Nellie Ingabire of “Beautiful People”.With the night coming to a close, Miss Supra Natural Rwanda, Sabrina Kubwimana, who was also in the crowd, was called upon to greet the crowd. Kubwimana promised to do her best when she represents the country in the next Miss world Supra Natural slated for Poland.

Leisure

Great traditional performances and jokes at ‘Beautiful People’ launch