Traditional dance groups and musical bands are gearing up for this year’s Chibuku Neshamwari Traditional Dance Festival finals scheduled to take place in Harare on September 3 at the Harare Gardens.
A total of 10 groups drawn from the country’s provinces will clash for top honours in the event.
The groups, Budiriro Cultural Arts (Mashonaland West), Umkhathi Theatre Works (Bulawayo), Redwing Mine (Manicaland), Zevezeve (Mashonaland), Black Amakhwezi (Matabeleland North), How Mine (Matabeleland South), Lundi Dance Group (Masvingo), Mangoma Ngaatsve (Mashonaland Central), and Malawi Globe and Phoenix (Midlands) will all converge in Harare for the finals.
The group which will come out tops will walk away with $4 000 while the first runner-up will walk away with $3 000. The third-placed group will pocket $2 000.
Patricia Murambinda, Delta Beverage Marketing manager said this year’s edition was going to be bigger and better since the finals were going to run concurrently with the Chibuku Bumper Harvest Promotion national draw.
“We decided to combine the two events because some people who enter the Chibuku draw competitions do not attend the traditional competitions. This was a way of uniting them to support and appreciate traditional dance music in Zimbabwe,” she said.
She added that the competitions were also a way of promoting the country’s rich cultural heritage through dance.
“Chibuku is not all about consumers, but the nation as a whole. We hope that these competitions will help the youths to understand our culture better,” she said.
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Last year’s Chibuku Neshamwari winners, Guruve Marimba from Mashonaland Central, will be the guest entertainers at the event.
The inaugural dance festival was held on September 4 1965 in Harare and since then, it has turned into one of the most anticipated arts events on the national cultural calendar.
