adminAuxilia Katongomara Saturday Leisure Reporter
WITHER to dance groups? For years, female dance groups topped as entertainment providers at weddings, night spots and public shows. From the turn of the millennium, there was a sharp turn in the showbiz scene with the sprouting of female and male dance groups dominating the industry. The ladies were of particular interest as they accompanied their raunchy and sexy dance routines with revealing attires that attracted many, particularly men as they left little to the imagination.
As the troupes in that line of trade grew in numbers – pubs and nightspot owners cashed in as they relied on them as low-cost baits to attract customers.
They performed at regular intervals till the break of dawn and patrons would be kept on their feet or stools gazing at the nimble footed dancers and their hard to resist revealing costumes.
However, male dance groups were not as popular as the female dance groups in the nightspots as revellers preferred the latter. The dance group craze which had its roots in Bulawayo quickly spread to other parts of the country thereby increasing competition among the dancers.
One of the most popular dance groups credited with being the torch bearers for the raunchy dance fraternity in the country, is Girls La Musica.
They at one time moved to Harare where they caused a stir with their rhumba dances before they returned back to their roots. Soon after Girls La Musica, many other dance groups emerged, namely Ziyawa Dance Queens, Exotic, Blue Virgins, Mambokadzi, Amavithikazi and Malaika among others.
Despite a slow start, the industry later grew at a faster rate that saw competition turning stiff among the dance groups. As a result, the fight for clients and space became unavoidable.
However, a number of dance groups from this part of the country were forced to seek the so called greener pastures in the capital where the market base was perceived to be wider and lucrative.
With time, however, the dance groups began complaining that pub owners paid them about US$100 to $150 per performance which they viewed as meagre and could not sustain their livelihood.
Most groups had dancers ranging from five to eight members and they were forced to share the little money they got from their performances. This saw some group members doubling as ladies of the night.
Investigations by Saturday Leisure in the past weeks revealed that most pub owners shunned the idea of dance groups as they were also struggling to get enough returns.
A manager at a local pub who declined to be named for professional reasons said patrons did not like the idea of dance groups anymore.
“Dance groups have been in the industry for a very long time, their dance routines have become monotonous and patrons do not like them anymore.
“Our clients just come to the pub to listen to music and watch football most of the times, so we are giving more time to disc jockeys to entertain them,” he said.
He said the tide had turned in the entertainment circles and they (groups) also needed to adapt to change.
Several other players in the local showbiz industry concurred that they had fazed out dance groups from their entertainment line-up as patrons were no longer interested in them.
They said business had been low in the past months but was mainly boosted by the English Premier League and UEFA Champions League as most football lovers preferred to watch them at night spots.
There have been several reports that dancers were also plying the trade as hookers – an allegation which the majority of them have never admitted. As dancers were becoming insignificant, pole dancers Noleen “Zoey” Sifelani and Beverly “Bev” Sibanda rekindled the fading fortunes of female dancers in the country.
The pair took the country by storm and became the most sought after artistes in the past two years. Their not so common dance moves which some described as alien to Zimbabwean culture, attracted both men and females.
However, their dances become monotonous and creativity has to be at its best to keep more revellers coming.
Girls La Musica founder, Priscilla Taurai said her dance group was out of business and was working on crossing over to the music industry to keep their name as well as to earn a living. “Business is very low these days. Clubs are not paying so we are out of business. We are hoping God intervenes,” said Taurai.
Another male dominated dance group which was based in Harare retraced its footsteps to Bulawayo where their career kicked off from and have decided to trade their dancing shoes for the mic.
It is evident that the ship is fast sinking on dance groups and they have to find alternative means of eking out a living as their oversubscribed industry is no longer viable.
Harperz Mapimhidze, chairperson of the Dance Group Association of Zimbabwe said the market was no longer viable countrywide and as such, dance groups were struggling to make ends meet.
“Business is very low, the pubs are also struggling to get maximum clients and as such, dancers are undercharging clients to at least get something. As an association, we have a set fee which we have given to the pub owners for every dance group registered with our association, but you find a dance group, out of desperation, charging $40 for a performance,” said Mapimhidze.
He said his association had pegged their fees between $150-$200 for performances on Friday, Saturday and Sunday with mid-week performances ranging from $80.
He said the low business could also be attributed to stiff competition in the business.
“When we founded the association in 2010, we had registered 20 dance groups, but now we have more than 45. There is so much poverty out there such that the dancers have no choice but to lower their charges to get food on the table,” said Mapimhidze.
He said the low business for the dancers could be attributed to lack of creativity.
“Most of the female dancers lack creativity, the dances are the same and it has become monotonous over the years. We always encourage them to be creative but it seems to fall on deaf ears,” bemoaned the chairperson.
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