Last Friday I went to Sadlers Wells Theatre to watch the National Spanish Ballet Company perform the Flamenco.
The first half consisted of agonised wailing from the singers, not unlike a cat in heat, that just set my teeth on edge! During the interval the people I'd gone with gushed about how 'amazing' the music was... and that singing...(pause for effect).. ohh!"
I just thought "I've blown £28 on this crap!"
Fortunately for me, the best was saved for last! In the second half, the caterwauling gave way to the haunting sound of the Spanish guitar beautifully complementing the passionate dance sequences and absolutely stunning costumes!
What an experience!
Afterwards, I reflected on the various dances from my country Uganda. We are made up of over 30 different tribes each with a unique dance and drum signature. If you played a drum sequence for me, I'd be able to tell you exactly where that came from- there's the sensual "Runyege, Entogoro" dance from my tribe Bunyoro; the powerful "Ekitaguriro" from the nearby Ankole tribe; the graceful "Baakisiimba", "Nankasa", "Muwogola" and energetic "Amaggunju" dances from the Buganda tribe, the rhythmic "Bwola", "Larakaraka" and "Ding Ding" dances from the northern Acholi tribe whose names are derived from the sound made by accompanying instruments. I could go on- but there are too many tribes to list. When my people dance, we put our whole minds, bodies and souls in to it. We don't have to screw up our faces into pained expressions to communicate Passion! You can just tell! There are no spectators here, everybody exuberantly claps and joins in with the singing, naturally breaking into untaught three part harmonies!
It's in moments like these that I realise that I do appreciate my roots. If I ever have children, my own, adopted or fostered, I'll make sure that that part of their heritage is not lost to them.
