Rwanda: Artists ready for integrative performance

The audience will be treated to a visual performance that will combine poetry, traditional dance, music and fine art. Tuyisenge said collaborating with artists and exploring different art forms allowed for creativity and the development of new techniques of content delivery to the audience.

The concert will feature singers and instrumentalists Munyakazi Deo, Gihana and Real Singers, poets Carine Maniraguha, Munezero Ferdinand and Bahati Innocents, and contemporary dance performances by Kaneza Movement Project and Nina Ruth, among others.

“Poetry is the best way I express myself,” Tuyisenge told Music In Africa. “I fuse music and poetry because I want people to understand me differently. My poems are inspirational and if well executed they can influence society positively. By participating in such an event, I play a role in the continuity of our traditions as well as provide a platform for any talented young person to join the arts community.”

Ruth, who comes from the US and is a fine arts and dance performance graduate based in Rwanda, said collaborations were important in her field.  

“I’m very much looking forward to working with so many different types of artists,” she said. “I am a dancer and dance is something that involves visuals and music or sound, and to be able to collaborate with different artists, especially across cultures, is a unique and inspiring experience.”

Tuyisenge said the instrumentalists who are part of tomorrow’s event would be playing traditional instruments. He said a growing number of musicians in Rwanda were becoming more and more interested in traditional disciplines.

“Embracing traditional instruments is a new innovation started by young artists here,” he said. “Rwanda is very cultural and it’s easier for a traditional artist to be successful than an artist making pop music.

“Apart from that, the government advocates for the preservation of culture, so as artists we play our role by composing traditional songs to ensure the continuity of traditional instruments and music."

Ruth said: “One thing that I appreciate about some of the up-and-coming music artists in Rwanda is that many try to use aspects of traditional Rwandan music creatively. That’s something that I find particularly unique to Rwandan contemporary music. There's a lot of West African and Caribbean influence in American music these days but Rwandan culture is still a bit unknown, and it is quite different.”

Painter Celestin Munezero will be working on a special piece in real time while tomorrow’s performances take place.

“The purpose of bringing in live painting is to show that all forms of art are interlinked,” Tuyisenge said. “Singers need dancers, dancers and poets need instrumentalists and when we perform we use painted backdrops, and that’s where painting comes in.”

Tickets to Ndi Igisigo are 3 000 Rwandan francs ($3.50). For more information call +250 787 277 631.