GWANDA South dance group Bolamba Performing Arts are still relishing the good show they put up during the 2018 edition of the Chibuku Neshamwari National Competition in which they clinched third position.
BY JOEL TSVAKWI
The group’s director, Mthabisi Dube, told NewsDay Life & Style that dancing their way from Kafusi Village to Mutare, where the national competition took place, was a humbling experience.
The group clinched the ticket to represent Matabeleland South after shrugging off competition from several other groups on June 16.
“There was a clash of 10 groups from each province and Bolamba, being the Matabeleland South champions, managed to come third,” Dube said.
Dube said he believed that the rich diversity of their cultural dances, including some from Botswana that they incorporated, could have been the ace up their sleeve.
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The dances included Setapa, Phanthisi Sebirwa, Hosanna, Sitshintsha and Amantshomane.
Dube said their decision to engage Botswana national Kenanao Tsholofelo last year helped them sharpen their arsenal with a repertoire of Khoisan dances.
“We engaged our friend from the Khoisan tribe in neighbouring Botswana for the dance preparations for the Chibuku competitions. He really did a good job on training us on the Tsutsube-Khoisan dance and that is the dance that we performed at the national finals,” he said.
The group’s marketing manager, Ntuntuko Nyathi, concurred with Dube, adding that their hard work has paid off.
“Past experiences have sharpened the group mentally and psychologically. Our location is deep in the jungles of Gwanda South in Kafusi and this worked to our advantage as the group conducted its rehearsals and team building exercises without too many distractions,” he said.