Renown dancer Fernando Anuanga takes the stage with Maasai rhythm and harmonies

The show opens with the throbbing of the kudu horn, a source of communication in African villages, and on cue a group of dancers, resplendent in traditional Maasai regalia, hum in typically deep rhythm as a lead voice soars above the rest.

A lithe figure dances upfront in a commanding fashion, as he thrusts his upper body forwards and backward, in sync with the rhythm of the enchanting voices.

He is the dancer and choreographer Fernando Anuanga, arguably the most consistent exponent of contemporary Maasai dance over more than three decades.

“The repetitive pattern of rhythms transports you to another place and time,” explains the veteran performer about the title of his upcoming show “In Between Trance”.

“The timbre of the voices is such that both the audience and the performers are mesmerised into what can only be compared to a trance,” he adds to describe the show that premieres on May 4, 2023, at the Alliance Francaise Nairobi.

Anuanga has been rehearsing in the Maasai Mara with a group of 15 singers and dancers drawn from the Mara, Magadi, and Amboseli for a performance, that while cultural, has been remodelled for a contemporary stage.

“Being here in the Mara surrounded by nature, fresh air, beautiful trees, right in the heart of Maasailand means we are in the ideal environment to be immersed in the creative process,” says the dancer who first came to fame as a member of the legendary 1990s disco dancing group Rare Watts.

He also toured with the renowned African Heritage, founded by the late Alan Donovan, and has wowed audiences around the world with his interpretations of the Maasai cultural dance.

This is the seventh in the series of shows following the success of “Maasai Footsteps” in 2020, a production with no less than 45 dancers drawn from the three regions.

Anuanga developed the concept for this performance in late 2022 and has been conducting intense rehearsals with the dancers and singers for the last one month at a location that he plans to ultimately turn into a permanent performance venue.

“I have added the voices (orgos) and movements (akus), to the deep humming which is the signature of the Maasai rhythm,” says Anuanga.

“There are specific lead singers while the rest of the group accompany the performance with the humming and dancing.”

His objective with the new dance production is to introduce the audience to the beauty of what he describes as the deep-throat humming of the Maasai which he compares to the throat-singing of the Tibetan Monks or a similar style associated with the Inuit, an indigenous community in northern Canada.

“The Maasai melody is based on the humming of the singers and the dancers keep their motion in step with the voices. The only difference is that this show has been choreographed to give it order, unlike what you might see in the informal setting of a village,” he says.

He has deliberately made the show minimalist so that people can be absorbed by the singing and improvisation in the dance movement.

“The emphasis is on the essence of each gesture to convey the message effectively so that the emotion is transmitted to the audience,” he says.

The momentum of the show keeps shifting during the one-hour performance: there are different variations, fiery, and tender.

Joyful, and melancholic, while occupying the space through dynamic dance movement to keep the audience engaged.

“We have always been fascinated with the traditional jumping of the Maasai dance but this is also an opportunity to discover the rhythm of their singing and the harmonies,” says Anuanga.

“The Maasai use their voices as the only instrument in their songs and so the singers express depth and emotion, with each note carefully chosen to convey a specific feeling or mood,” he says.

The songs are about the experiences of everyday life for young Maasai men as they handle the challenges of life such as hunting, or taking the animals to pasture, or even looking for a bride.

“The Maasai like other African communities have an oral tradition, so songs like these play an important role in conveying messages and teachings in the society and are passed on from one generation to the next,” says Anunaga.

The lead singers are Kinarita ole Karia, Shinka Leperes and Jonah ole Rinka from Maasai Mara, Kawuet Muatata Naipenyu of Magadi, and Naiganya ole Ntirraba and Lensinko Moses Koreko of Amboseli.

At the end of the premiere of “In Between Dance” on May 4th, Anuanga will hold a brief session to explain to the audience some of the nuances of Maasai singing, that distinguish the community’s performers from the different regions.

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