adminWeekender Correspondent
PROVINCIAL preliminaries for the eight edition of the Jibilika Dance Festival will roar into life tomorrow (Saturday) at Courtauld Theatre where more than 15 dance groups are expected to compete.The preliminaries started on May 16 in Masvingo Province at the Charles Austin Theatre where Zvazvinhu Dance crew won.
In Harare, the event was held on May 23 and Flying Angels and Third Wave came out tops, while Extreme and Jr Fox crew won in Gweru.
Bulawayo and Chtiungwiza will hold the preliminaries on June 13 and June 27 respectively, while the other five provincial finals dates will be announced soon.
The festival celebrates both urban and cultural dances and runs in competition format. It was founded in 2007 and is run by the Jibilika Dance Trust.
In an interview, the Jibilika Dance Trust director, Plot Mhako, said the three preliminaries held to date were very successful with the level of competition increasing.
“The dancers have improved a lot from last year and also new groups are coming in. The local communities have been coming in numbers to support and we look forward to the same in Mutare.
“This year’s finals are set for August 22 in Bulawayo at the Amphitheatre, marking the first time that the national finals are to be held outside Harare,” he said.
The festival is a youth urban cultural platform seeking to herald Zimbabwe’s hidden artistic talent and use the energy to address the ill-elements bedeviling the youths.
The festival aims to promote dance as a vehicle for youth, talent development and a platform for recreation. The festival carnival will encompass mentorship on a wide range of youth related issues, training and development workshops in various communities, exhibitions and performances
“Unlike in previous years when preliminaries have been held in seven to eight provinces, this year all the country’s 10 provinces will select a single group to represent at the nationals,” added Mhako.
Running under the theme: “Freestyle”, the festival will allow young people to freely express themselves through dance, celebrating uniqueness whilst embracing our cultural diversity and will display high standards of choreography and professionalism as a way of making dance entertaining, engaging and economically empowering.
Online Reporter