An Evening at the Ndere Centre

It is hard to believe that it has been over a month since my ladies and I went to the Ndere Centre for their Wednesday evening show. It was another recommendation from by friend/boss Phil, and again he did not fail us.

We set out by Uber shortly after 5pm for the 7pm show because Kampala traffic is brutal most of the time, and extra bad during rush hour. Our Uber driver was great, going off the major roads a few times to get us to our destination by half past 6. The route he took us on was scenic and interesting, with the driver giving us some interesting stories as we travelled. The most entertaining/interesting factoid came as we were driving through an upscale residential area – past a former general who is under house arrest. There were armed guards posted outside his gate (tents and all) and on the roof as well! You don’t see that in Canada hahaha

We arrived very early for the show but it was alright. There is a room set up selling crafts, jewellery and clothing so we did a some shopping. And then there are the grounds – spectacular to behold. We explored for a short while, took some photos and then went to sit down for the show.

From their website (link below) here is a some information about Ndere:

“The word ENDERE means FLUTE, NDERE TROUPE, therefore means FLUTE TROUPE.
The flute was chosen as a symbol of:

Beauty:
Because it produces such beautiful and irresistible music which can be manipulated to express different moods, such as love, thoughtfulness, loneliness, sorrow, romance, happiness etc.

Universal Unity:
All peoples of the world have a flute in their cultures. The flute is like the red blood that flows in our bodies no matter our external differences. Ndere Troupe prides in emphasising commonalties and enjoying the rich differences.

Ndere Troupe is a cultural development organisation that was founded in 1986 by Rwangyezi Stephen

The show was spectacular! The talented musicians and dancers somehow keep moving with non-stop incredible energy for two and a half hours. It seemed like the women’s hips were barely attached to their spines, they move them so fast and in all directions. My hips on the other hand barely sway side to side, and with no real rhythm haha!

I don’t have many photos of the show because I didn’t want to watch it from behind a camera. This video is from the opening number. It only got better from here.

An optional part of the show is the buffet dinner, featuring some classic Ugandan dishes such as posho, casava and matoke. They offered a choice of chicken, beef and goat, so I answered “yes” and took all three! Hey, it’s food – I tried guinea pig in Peru and crickets 2 ways in Cambodia, of course I was eating goat in Kampala.