Isiaka Mbarushimana performed his one-hour play Igicaniro on the night of July 28, at L’Institut français du Rwanda. Being a multidisciplinary artist; a dancer, choreographer, and a poet, are among the things that stimulated Mbarushimanas creation and performance that showcased a blend of different forms of art. He said the idea of crafting the piece came when he was staying at home during the Covid-19 lockdown. He started questioning everything; what he did in the past, his present and how he saw himself in the future. He was also polling different taboos and how social media people werent real for they only posted their best life. He then found himself drawing an image which he later came to realise portrayed his mind, trying to communicate what he was thinking. That made him decide to bring his thoughts to life through the forms of art he was good at. Isiaka Mbarushimana performing. He developed the play at different residencies in Germany and France and when he returned to Kigali, he was challenged to make it a one-hour performance. He accepted the challenge and invited artists who make music, poetry and one who drums so that they could contribute towards bringing his story to life. Mbarushimana started dancing at the age of 12 and in 2017, he ventured into it professionally. At the time, he was doing contemporary dance mixing it with modern forms. Ive realised that dancing isnt something one does for fun or money but rather a form of art that can help one to tell a story, talking about things that are really hard to talk about and expressing themselves mentally or physically, he said. Since then, he started attending classes to educate himself about different techniques of choreography and later started teaching contemporary dance. He plans to tour across different continents showcasing his play. Mxanzi le Poete, a poet and performer who worked on the poetry and music side of the piece said it made it deeper as everything was built from the main story. According to him, blending different forms of art in one piece is significant because what they do is storytelling and the more one finds many ways to tell stories, the more the story will get to many people. One might not understand contemporary dance but understand poetry or music. So, its all about communicating your story to a large audience, he said. Sharon Mbabazi who attended the event loved the energy of the performer, Mbarushimana, as well as the story behind his performance. She also loved the drumming and music part of it. She said that she learned when the performer questioned his existence, adding that it was a call for people to think about why they are where they are, which she said was something nice to think about.
