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Their winning play, Bhowesa Nkazana (You Go Girl) is a musical play that traces the development of girl child from the traditional era to present day.
The play was voted as one of the best festival highlights and was duly chosen as one of the two best presentations at the annual festival held in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The festival ended on Sunday.
According to the festival website, the awards show featured two kinds of awards, the Fringe Jury Awards and the Fringe Hit Awards, which celebrate audience favourites as determined by attendance and box office sales.
Intombi Zomqangala, a drumming, singing and dance troupe founded by Ndebele left the country a fortnight ago for a two-month tour of Canada.
The Atlantic Fringe Festival is an annual arts jamboree which brings together different genres of arts from across the world and Ndebele’s group participated for the first time.
Intombi Zomqangala which is fast becoming one of the most sought-after dance groups to emerge from the city, is an advocacy group formed in 2009 by Ndebele.
The women have proved they are their own masters as they play their own musical instruments including guitars.
The dance queens boast of four productions, Umfazi (The Woman), Princess of Africa, Bhowesa Nkazana (You Go Girl) and Ingungu Zethu, Ziyakhipha (Our Drums, Our Victory).
Their new play Bhowesa Nkazana, traces the development of a girl from the early traditional period where roles were designated according to gender.
Through music, song, dance and drumming that traditional period is explored and presented with its rich cultural aspects while highlighting the lives of young girls during that period.
Different Ndebele, Shona, Venda and Sichewa dances are performed in order to capture the spirit of the day.
The show brings out the mentoring aspect of the African society where the older girls guide the younger ones.
Their primary objective as a group is to empower young women through song and dance as well as preserving Zimbabwean tradition.
Online Reporter