BY REJOICE NCUBE
MULTI AWARD-WINNING Bulawayo-based dance ensemble, Ezimnyama’s founder and arts director, Phibion “Fobie” Ncube yesterday said they had adopted mitigating strategies for the COVID-19-induced lockdown to meet their needs.
Physical gatherings for live concerts have remained banned as part of measures to curb the spread of the deadly virus, and as a result, most artistes are financially struggling. Ncube told NewsDay Life & Style that COVID-19 had taught artistes to think beyond the arts industry and invest in other sectors.
“As Ezimnyama, we depend mainly on our artistic abilities. We have created employment for ourselves using our talents, but the closure of our sector is a big blow for us. However, we have learnt a lot of lessons that we have to think beyond the arts sector and invest,” he said.
“As a result of the pandemic, some of our artists have resorted to selling some basic items to meet some of their needs.”
Ncube said while the banning of public gatherings and events came at a price, making them to lose their performance platforms, they had resorted to online to keep their business running.
“We are currently working on our new dance play which is called HOPE. It will be aired online this July as we have adopted the use of online platforms to conduct our business due to the closure of our sector,” he said.
“Conducting our business online is, however, a challenge because it comes with a huge cost. We have to make sure everyone has data and also a space to work on the moves unlike when we are meeting at the dance studio.”
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