Zimbabwe’s ambassador to India, Maxwell Ranga, has urged artistes to treat their work as a business if they are to grow their careers as professional performers.
BY WINSTONE ANTONIO
Ranga made the remarks on Friday as he bade farewell to a Zimbabwean traditional dance troupe, Hwamanda, who were touring India on a cultural exchange programme between the two countries.
“I understand you have been to various countries, which gives you a lot of exposure and what I want to urge you is, don’t take this dance to be just dance. You have to dream big and aim high. You should move to another level and you need to embrace business model,” he said.
Ranga said it was vital for Zimbabwean artistes to build synergies with international artistes for collaborations from such cultural exchange programmes that helped export their talents while bringing financial rewards.
Hwamanda offered scintillating performances during the eighth edition of the annual 10-day Manipur Sangani Festival that ended on Thursday in Imhal, Manipur State.
Their dancing prowess and drumming skills also charmed the Art and Culture Development, government of Manipur’s joint director, Lovrembam Kishworjit Singh and government of Manipur’s Commissioner Shri M. Lakshmikumar Singh, who promised to engage more Zimbabwean artistes for future events.
The Mufakose-based group showcased some of Zimbabwe’s prominent traditional dances that included Jerusarema, Madanhi, Chinyambera and Dinhe as they performed at an International Dance Festival in Ahmedabad, Kolkata, the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal and New Delhi.
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In an interview with NewsDay Hwamanda’s manager, Linnot Laimbo said they were happy to have performed in India.
“We really appreciate such an opportunity bestowed to us by Zimbabwe Tourism Authority and the Indian embassy in Harare, who facilitated our tour for India. It was a good collaboration, as we exchanged notes with some of India’s top artistes and festival directors,” he said.
Zimbabwe Tourism Authority official, Tesa Chikaponya, who was the tour’s head of delegation, said such cultural exchange programmes must be implemented, as they bring investments in both leisure and events tourism.
