BY DEMETRIA MANYONGA
Totambengoma Arts was on Saturday crowned Harare provincial winners of the Chibuku Neshamwari Traditional Dance competition which took place at Warren Park 1 Bar, Harare.
The Glen View outfit will represent Harare province at national competitions to be held in Kadoma on August 10.
The festival, which was organised by the Zimbabwe National Traditional Dances Association (ZNTDA) in partnership with the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ), and sponsored by Delta Beverages, saw cultural dance groups in different genres battling for honours.
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“The festival showcases culture and dances from Africa. The Chibuku Neshamwari winner here will represent Harare at national competitions to be held in Kadoma in August,” William Ndinde, who spoke on behalf of NACZ, said.
ZNTDA official Nyadzisai Mirisawu was pleased with the performances.
“The event went well. Participants exhibited high standards of professionalism. It is encouraging that this year’s edition has improved in terms of quality and competition compared to the previous ones,” Mirisawu said.
For coming tops, Totambengoma walked away with ZWL$1 000 prize money, while second-placed Dedza from Mufakose went home ZWL$800 richer. Shingai Dance Group also from Mufakose won ZWL$600 for coming third and other participating groups won ZWL$400 each.
Totambengoma Arts chairman Joseph Ticharwa said: “I am happy that hard work has finally paid off. We will continue to work hard as we prepare for the finals. We will not sit on our laurels because a bigger task lies ahead. Preparations for Kadoma will have to start now.”
At last year’s nationals, Harare was represented by a group from Mbare, which, however, failed to make the grade at the finals.
The participating groups were drawn from Glen Vew, Mufakose Mt Hampden, Mbare, Dzivarasekwa and Harare Prisons, among others.
Each group was given 10 minutes to showcase their dancing skills.