amadinda

Learning Dance In Uganda - by Raquel Ribes Miro

In 2001, I travelled to Uganda with percussionist Andy Cooke. Andy has been studying music and promoting artists from Uganda for many years, and we were there to meet old friends and take some lessons. I was really impressed with the quality of the dancing I saw, and have always wanted to go back to study Ugandan dance in depth.

Thanks to the Scottish Arts Council, I was able to return to Uganda in July 2004 to continue my studies, and was again accompanied by Andy Cooke. My aims were:

• To take private lessons to learn the wedding dance of Buganda region, and the dances of Busoga region.
• To perform as much as possible with leading groups, in villages and in the city.
• To collect background material on these dances: video, photos, costumes, and information on the history of the dances and their movement.

We spent around three weeks in Kampala, mostly working with Tebifanana Abifuna group, and two weeks in Jinja town, working with Nile Beat Artists. We trained on most days, and whilst I learnt dance variations, Andy would learn the accompanying drumming patterns. There were plenty of opportunities to perform, mostly at weddings and other ceremonies. Highlights of our trip include:

• a performance for the Kabaka (King of Buganda) at a golf club;
• meeting former palace musicians and dancers in a village;
• a performance for President Yoweri Museveni at the opening of a factory;
• visiting Siragi Kirimungu's village, and dancing with him in Kampala;
• an interview for Uganda TV arts programme;

I kept a dance diary whilst in Uganda and I use this here to describe my experience of learning and performing each dance. Finally, I'll reflect on my experiences and describe some of the ideas these have inspired.