adminZim music Matrix
Clive Malunga
BEFORE embarking on an international music and dance tour, Jenaguru conducts thorough dance rehearsals under the tutelage of Exhibit Simango, a well-known dance teacher in Zimbabwe.
At times, Simango is assisted by Mputhumi Hlazo and Alec Bhokisi, accomplished dance teachers.
Typically, a day’s rehearsal session lasts four hours.
The first three hours are dedicated to dances while the last one hour is for the group to learn to sing a few songs in Japanese and Korean.
We also learn general etiquette rules in Japanese and Korean cultures.
We try as much as possible to build confidence in children. They will also be expected to explain the dances and all the props that we carry such as mbira, tswanda, mbikiza, ngundu, tsvimbo, magavhu, chuma, ndarira, hwamanda, hosho and chipendani.
We have received a lot of assistance from The Culture Fund, an organisation led by Farai Mupfunya.
The Culture Fund books us into a hotel (usually Cresta Lodge) before our departure, and pays our transport costs to the airport on the morning of our departure.
The Culture Fund makes sure that the whole group is well dressed in tracksuits, shirts and caps and have carrier bags all written “Zimbabwe” at the back and front and, in small letters, “Jenaguru Arts Centre “.
On departure day, parents, siblings and relatives of the travelling children flock to the airport to bid them farewell.
From Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport, we fly South African Airways to Oliver Tambo International Airport, a journey of one-and-half hours. After spending two hours in South Africa, we connect to Cathay Pacific Airline for a 13-hour flight to Hong Kong. We spend three hours in Hong Kong and then board Japan Airline for a three-hour final leg of our journey to Incheon International Airport, South Korea.
Altogether, our long-haul journey to the first city where we will start performing takes 23 hours or more. Before we begin performing in South Korea, we are given a little induction into Korean culture.
The lessons include how to prepare and serve their traditional green tea.
They also provide us with traditional Korean attire. From Incheon we travel to Seoul by luxury bus where we visit popular sites in the capital city before any performance.
Let me describe one tour we undertook for you to appreciate the kind of experience the children get.
After our performances in Seoul, we had a long drive to the city of Busan where we were treated to a presidential welcome.
For most in our group, it was the first time we slept in a five-star hotel. We had memorable performances there. From Busan, we took a one-hour flight to Fukuoka International Airport, Japan.
In each Japanese city we visited, we did more than four performances.
From Fukuoka, we flew Sky Airline to Okinawa, a journey of one hour 45 minutes.
We were given a resounding welcome.
Okinawa is a very hot island and we were taken to the beach to swim. We also had our lunch at the beach. From Okinawa we proceeded to Kobe, where at one time we experienced serious tremors.
We drove from Kobe to Nagoya, where our sound engineer, Tadaaki Nakamura, stays.
After performing in Nagoya, we boarded a bullet train to Tsuruga Harbour, where we crossed to Otaru by ferry. We also visited Hiroshima City, well-known for the 1945 atomic bombing by the US.
We went to the site where the bomb was dropped and a guide explained exactly what happened.
I was touched by what I heard.
We performed twice in Hiroshima.
We also visited Iwate Prefecture, where we performed for victims of the catastrophic tsunami, which had hit the nearby Fukushima prefecture.
Jenaguru was invited to perform at a hospital in Sapporo. Research was being conducted to see if our energetic Zimbabwe dances can motivate those who will be seriously sick not to give up easily.
The research is still ongoing.
A day before we departed for Zimbabwe, the Sapporo mayor and residents threw a big farewell party.
Many local kids joined Jenaguru Music and Dance Group. Our children showcased traditional Zimbabwean games such as pada, nhodo, chisveru and also played Japanese games like Janken, Kendama and Kenpa.
Before returning, we visited Tsukuba City where spacecraft are manufactured.
We performed once in Tsukuba City.
Our performances ended in the city of Hokkaido.
These international music and dance cultural exchange programmes build confidence in children.
◆ NB: For feedback, you can contact me on [email protected] or WhatsApp/SMS 0782 464 001.
Online Reporter