Chronicle Editor
Mthabisi Tshuma, Showbiz Reporter
THE queen of pole dancing Zoey has said there is a need for artistes to continue being innovative, outside the creative sector in order for them to have a consistent source of income.
Those in the creative sector learnt it the hard way after the Covid-19 pandemic saw imposition of lockdowns that led to the indefinite closure of the arts sector.
For Zoey and the Red Angels, they had to improvise, something that saw Zoey setting up a fitness academy and massage parlour which are flourishing in the capital.
Speaking to Chronicle Showbiz from her Harare base, the pole dancer who was recently in Bulawayo for a show said:
“In 2020, we learnt a lot. We realised that we can have our sector closed in no time meaning that we need to have back-up plans. I took that opportunity to grow my massage parlour and academy.
“It’s doing well and I’m on course to expand and open it countrywide.”
Zoey said the academy mostly trains women.
She advised fellow creatives to ensure that they have side hustles.
“Always push your career hard and have side hustles no matter what as we don’t know what the future holds for us,” she said.
Turning to her dancing career, Zoey said she is elated that bookings have started to shape up after a three-year hiatus. She said not all was in vain as the lockdown period gave her time to reinvent herself.
“We’ve diversified our performances and I’m glad that it’s paying off as we’re receiving more bookings almost daily.
At one point, they were just too many but we’re handling them well,” she said.
Zoey has a 10-member dance crew that she now groups to align with the type of performance she will be staging.
“I group my 10-member gang (eight females and two males) depending on the type of show we’ll be gracing. For example, when performing at a venue that has miners, we focus mostly on rhumba music and for other occasions, it’s other genres so the members are grouped with that in consideration,” said Zoey.
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