The hour-long performance mesmerised a large audience at Katara Esplanade here recently where the ensemble performed as part of the Cultural Diversity Festival series being organised by the Cultural Foundation Katara and Unesco with the participation of 20 different countries.
The two-day performance by the group attracted large crowds particularly the members of Kenyan expatriate community living in Qatar. And as is the case with almost all kinds of African music, the Kenyan members of the audience would participate in the dances and music by singing and dancing with the rhythm.
Amb Galma Boru, Ambassador of Kenya to Qatar, was present amongst the audience at the show’s opening.
“This was a great opportunity for us to showcase our vast cultural heritage and diversity to the Qatari people. With 42 different tribes, Kenya is a culturally rich country,” the ambassador told Community after the show.
The group comes from the Kenyan capital Nairobi, but the dances performed were from other major tribes as well, he pointed out.
The ambassador said there are about 16,000 Kenyan people living in Qatar. Most of them are employed with Qatar Airways while others are working as engineers in construction firms besides security and transport companies.
“The Kenyan cuisine, songs and dances are aspects of the Kenyan culture that are widely popular across the world and could be showcased here in Qatar as well,” said the ambassador.
“We welcome the people living in Qatar to visit our country that is rich in heritage, wildlife and safaris. We have got some really nice beaches and ice-capped mountain peaks. There are various places to visit and meet our nice people,” said Boru.
He said the number of people touring Kenya from Qatar is increasing and they are exploring all the exciting tourism places. The traditional dance and music forms a huge part of the Kenyan culture. It is a way of life, says Anthony Karundu, the Art Director and leader of the Nairobi National Dance Ensemble.
“The dances that we performed here today are traditional dances. Culture in Kenya is a way of life and as it changes with time, today’s show depicted a dance form combining different styles in one story,” says Karundu.
He also choreographed the beautiful dances performed by young girls and boys attired in traditional Kenyan outfits, stamping their feet to the beats of drums.
“It was a story from Nyanza province near Lake Victoria and it showed the way of life for Nyanza people from the Western part of Kenya,” Karundu explained.
The reason why Nairobi dance troupe is unique is that it is not a single ethnic tribal troupe. It is a composition of artistes from different tribes within the 42 tribes of Kenya. There are performers from Kikuyu tribe in Central Province; Kamba, Embu and Meru tribes in Eastern Province, luhya tribe in Western Province and Luo and Kisii tribes in Nyanza province.
Performers also come from the Maasai and Kalenjin tribes in the great-rift valley province, besides the Giriama and Digo tribes in coast province. Their performance is a collection of dances and music from almost all communities in Kenya and other parts of Africa.
The instruments used in the performance come from different parts of the country, said Karundu. The drums come from the coast province and Nyanza province —the longer ones from the eastern part of Kenya.
“In our group, we have many different wind and string instruments but here we came with 10 people only so we mostly had drums in the ensemble. At least, the drums would give you a lot of rhythm which would not be the case if there was a string instrument involved,” he explained.
Almost all the members of the ensemble come from Nairobi where people from different cultures come for work and living. That is how Karundu and his colleagues formed a multi-cultural traditional Kenyan ensemble.
He said they do their research on cultures of different tribes and try to combine it in their performances. Everyone brings something from their respective communities and they put it together.
Karundu’s ensemble has performed worldwide. Recently, they were in France where they participated in a big festival. And that was a big group with 25 performers. In the bigger group, Karundu said they have more than seven musicians with more instruments other than just drums.
On his second trip to Doha, he said, he loved the country. “Every summer, we are in Europe performing in different countries, but when we come here it is completely different. The audience here might not be most vocal but you look in their faces and you know that they enjoy it,” said the artiste.
The Nairobi national dance ensemble project is a powerful group of folk dancers, musicians and acrobats, based in the Kenyan capital Nairobi known as the City in the Sun. The troupe is composed of 35 young and talented male and female artistes.
As cultural ambassadors, their aims, they say, are to educate, preserve and recollect the richness of their national heritage through music and dance.
The troupe has participated in Vihiga cultural festival in the Western Province. The troupe has also participated in different state events in Kenya. Nairobi dancers also actively pursue different projects like HIV and Aids awareness programmes and other community projects.
