Kampala — THE recent first annual National Intercultural Dance Festival at the National Theatre was a diversion from the forms of popular entertainment that are becoming commonplace and predictable.

Think about music shows (album launches), movie premieres, stage plays and even clowning.

The festival, the first of its kind, was a cross-generational affair. And that applied to both the audience and the performers.

Youthfulness does not only belong to the young. The younger dancers were energetic but the older ones kept them in control.

Organisers made sure it did not turn out as a competition, but a showcase of various traditional dances. But these were not traditional to the basic level.

The choreography of most dances gave it the shavings of modern and contemporary dances, evident in the Owaro dance of the Samia people from the eastern Uganda.

Developed in a stage play by Prof. Mangeni, it was performed in circles. While a "circle" philosophy rules most of the cultures in the region, there was no background information that the first composers of the dance were influenced by it.

Dancing is healthy but risky. The girls of Ufuka Dance Troupe carried more weight than your typical dancers. Their Dingidingi dance (from Acholi) was more of a show of skill than strength.

Yet the kizino dance of the Bakiga was a show of more strength than skill.

From time immemorial, music and drama have always been part of culture.

A nation is not only defined by its politics but also its culture.