Sundaymail Editor
Brighton Zhawi
AFTER witnessing a close friend suffer a horrific leg injury during a high school football match, Kudakwashe Makaza hanged up his football boots and found solace in dancing.
Son to former Dynamos Football Club chairperson Simon Makaza, Kudakwashe is the lead choreographer for the chart-topping track Patati Patata’s video by Zimbabwe’s urban grooves maestro Roki featuring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) rhumba great Koffi Olomide and Tanzania’s afro-pop artist Rayvanny.
The video for the song broke records after it attracted two million views within 48 hours on YouTube.
Born and bred in Chitungwiza, dancing is so natural to him that it took him only two hours to come up with dance routines for Patati Patata.
“I remember waking up on a Sunday and I just decided to work on it (create dances for Patati Patata), although I had planned to work on it the following day. After two hours, I had already created the dance moves,” said Makaza IN an interview with The Sunday Mail Society.
“I started off with two dancers and then from there, I incorporated more until we had 30 dancers in total. I was told about the deal a week before shooting and I am proud of what we achieved as a team.”
A choreographer for the past nine years, he has done a number of music videos with some of the country’s top artistes, among them Ishan.
With Ishan, he worked on the choreography for the “Feelings” music video, which also features Nutty O.
Like most local choreographers, his career started with weddings.
“I loved football but lost interest in the sport after one of my friends broke his leg during a match when we were in Form Two. I started off as a wedding choreographer and from there, I never looked back.”
Although he feels the choreography industry is not fully appreciated, he believes that working with Roki and Koffi will open more doors for him.
“Some musicians appreciate us; others do not. The same can be said of people in general. Very few parents would encourage their kids to pursue dancing as a career. Personally, I am proud of my work and I am looking forward to international assignments,” he said. Apart from dancing, he also does Zumba lessons, corporate flash movement and brand expansion.
Makaza has one regret from his work on Patati Patata.
“I should have come up with the ‘Gakanje dance’ for the part of the song that talks about the gakanje (crab). I only thought of the idea on the day of the shooting, but it was too late.”
Online Reporter