A LOCAL traditional dance ensemble, Hwamanda Dance Troupe, will showcase their dancing prowess at this year’s edition of the Manipur Sangai Festival set for November 21 to 31 in India, as Zimbabwe and the Asian country continue to cement their socio-cultural ties.
BY WINSTONE ANTONIO
The 12-member Mufakose-based group are the reigning champions of this year’s Harare International Carnival after shrugging off stiff competition from 339 local and international groups that participated at the carnival.
In an interview with NewsDay yesterday, the group’s choreographer Betty Majira said they were honoured to participate at the festival where they will showcase most of their local traditional dances.
“We are happy to be travelling to India to showcase some of our prominent traditional dances in Zimbabwe such as Mbakumba, Chindomana, Mhande, Isitshikitsha, Amabhiza, Chinyambera, Jerusarema and Muchongoyo among others,” she said.
“We promise to raise our flag high and leave lasting impressions at such a prestigious festival, as we perform some dances that reflect the culture of Zimbabwe.”
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Majaira said the festival will also provide them with a platform to learn new skills, as they compare notes with other participating groups from different countries and also marketing Zimbabwe as a tourist destination.
Since its formation in 1998, the globe-trotting dance troupe has performed at several high profile cultural festivals in countries such as Japanese, Belgium, Seychelles, Algeria, China and Denmark.