When the 2009 edition of SPA-Fest came round, a number of dance groups put their best foot forward to bag the main prize. But for industry watchers, there was one that went into the competition with a huge amount of goodwill and a more than fair chance of winning. And they did not disappoint – Ignitaz walked away with the overall prize for the third year running.

Yet that win was just an addendum to what has been quite a few years for Ignitaz, since they came into the limelight in 2007. One of the group’s leaders, Simon Mwangi, points out that contrary to what people might be tempted to think, their win wasn’t a fluke or favor:

Given the amount of buzz they have created within Gospel circles and even beyond, it’s easy to see how hard work has paid off for the PCEA Kahawa Farmers dance group. Started in 2005 by their choreographer Rebman Wambaa, the group tinkered around with several names before settling on a spin-off from their youth group’s name, Igniters. Benjamin Kiruthi, a former member, recalls those first days:

Interestingly enough, when Rebman began the group, he wasn’t born again. All he wanted to do was teach the young people in the church how to dance, and so it was. Even today, the group points out that although its membership is “99%” saved, anyone is welcome. That aside, it wasn’t long before they saw the logic in being a ministry team, both for the church and outside.

They began dancing at schools, churches and events like weddings, with their first external foray being the Heroes Bash in December 2005. Thereafter, Ignitaz entered the 2006 Talentmania Awards, which they won, and followed it up with a win at SPA-Fest (a feat they’d repeat in 2008 and 2009). Since then, Ignitaz has headlined several Gospel events, including at the 2009 Groove Awards, where they deservedly bagged the Dance Group of the Year award.

The group’s manager Peter Irungu says that Ignitaz is now focusing on creating a professional dance team that can cater for various needs, e.g. entertainment at weddings and corporate events, shooting customized videos and much more. In fact, one of the biggest things the group is working on is a gig they’re calling ‘The Greatest Story Ever Told’, a dance, music and drama production set to go down on the 23rd of August 2009.

Whether that is so remains to be seen, but Ignitaz have certainly made a huge imprint on the Gospel dance scene for the time they’ve been around. Inevitably, that begs the question of longevity, seeing as it is that dance groups have a way of disintegrating at a very alarming rate. They’re quick to point to their track record and future plans in defense:

Dance purists will point out that as time has gone by, Ignitaz has become more of a drama outfit than dancers, but no one will argue that they’ve been one of the most creative, consistent and impressive groups around. One hopes they'll be at it for much longer, and do even better!

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