Chronicle Editor
Showbiz Reporter
ALL is in place for the Jikinya Dance Festival national finals taking place on Thursday at Welton Primary School in Beitbridge.
Ten primary schools who were shortlisted at the provincial finals will battle it out.
Bulawayo will be represented by Matshayisikova, while Huwana will represent Matabeleland South.
Other competing schools are Midlands’ Chiedza, Harare’ ZRP Support, Manicaland’s Zamba, Mashonaland Central’s Chipindura, Mashonaland East’s St Joseph, Mashonaland West’s Manyame, Masvingo’s Gaba and Matabeleland North’s Lwendulu.
Cathrine Mthombeni, National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) acting communications and marketing manager, said Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education – Mrs Tumisang Thabela – will be the Guest of Honour at the celebrations.
The finals will be held under the theme: “Enriching The National Educational Thrust Through Dance”.
“The theme is premised on the need to ride on the new curriculum that fully embraces arts education.
The theme strives to bring out the importance of dance as a key component of the new learning trajectory,” Mthombeni said.
“It further seeks to remind Zimbabweans that dance is part of the nation’s intangible cultural heritage that fosters the country’s identity. With the education system now embracing dance as a learning area, Jikinya Dance Festival easily provides information for the educators in this genre of the arts. The Festival is therefore a source of enrichment for the dance genre as a learning area.”
At the three levels of the competition – district, provincial and national, schools are expected to showcase a dance of their choice as well as the 2018 festival common dance of Muchongoyo.
“The festival common dance concept was introduced seven years ago to allow all participating children, despite their regions, to learn, perform and appreciate diverse Zimbabwean cultures through dance. The dances performed reflect some authentic traditional aspects of a particular ethnic, religious or cultural group in Zimbabwe,” Mthombeni said.
Muchongoyo is predominantly performed by Ndau and Shangani speaking people mostly living in Chipinge and Chimanimani in Manicaland, some parts of Chiredzi as well as in parts of Mozambique.
“Muchongoyo was the common dance for over two years and a new dance for 2019-2020 shall be proclaimed at the finals in Beitbridge.”
Jikinya Dance Festival is a partnership programme between NACZ and the National Association of Primary Heads (NAPH) and is supported by Delta Corporation.
The festival that is held annually seeks to encourage primary school children to appreciate and perform Zimbabwean traditional dances thus promoting and safeguarding Zimbabwe’s cultural heritage.
derick.khumalo