Inganzo- 'Intore' (Warrior Dance)

Inganzo Ngari, a group of some 100 members of different ages that was formed in 2006 to promote traditional Rwandan dance, music and culture. They perform at everything from national and international events to weddings.

Their name Inganzo Ngari loosely translates to “Limitless Talent” and based on today, that is the perfect name for them.

The group’s manager is Serge and today we had about 50 performers, some fully professional, some with day jobs, but all investing time to rehearse twice a week.

As part of the performance, we saw the Intore – which means a traditional warrior dance. This was a manifestation of each warrior showing the king what he’s made of – his talent, his weaponry, and judging by the performance, his incredible dance and performance skills. But one of the coolest parts of this was the costumes: all the dancers were decked out in headpieces that resembled a lion’s mane for strength and courage. The dancing was accompanied by screaming, to project out the sound of their victory. And to top it off, they were accompanied by a group playing a horn called the amakondera. The overall effect was majestic.

All in all, a great first day of filming! And we just about managed not to lose the light.

Please enjoy all the performance by linking to the video here:
Umutagara (traditional)
Umutagara (innovation)
Umushagiriro (the elegance of the cow)
Intwatwa (celebration dance)
Intore (Warrior dance)
Agaseke (Basket dance)
Ikinimba (Jumping dance)
Intwatwa (with soloists)
Intwatwa – vocal set

Recorded: 22.09.23
Location: Kigali, Rwanda