LITTLE known Izenzo Performing Arts (IPA) stole the show at the just-ended Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) as visitors to the five-day fair took time to watch their fancy traditional dances.
NONHLANHLA SIBANDA OWN CORRESPONDENT
Clad in traditional Ndebele warriors outfits, the group’s fancy footwork drew large crowds to the Population Services International (PSI) Zimbabwe stand.
The 16-member ensemble displayed great acrobatic skills as they leapt on top of each other’s shoulders, leaving the crowds stunned.
PSI sponsored the group to perform at the 55th edition of the ZITF which ended yesterday as the organisation drummed up support for male circumcision.
Tichaona Karuma, director of the group, said the ensemble has grown amazingly in just 10 months since it pulled out of Simunye Simunye Performing Arts.
Karuma disclosed that the group is currently working on a 16-track album set to be released in October.
One of the tracks on the album, Sawulanda Umzila, speaks about how the group has made a decision to promote culture.
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“We had a different vision and we wanted to do things differently.
“There was a conflict in the group. Therefore to avoid complications we thought it would be better to leave and form a group of our own,” Karuma said.
Some of the senior members that left Simunye Simunye to form the new outfit include former group director Future Dube, Bruno Nduwa, Matrine Muleya and Karuma.
IPA is currently working with the Entumbane-based Imvimbi Arts on a production dubbed Bvuma.
Bvuma is about a woman from Mashonaland who falls in love with a man from Matabeleland.
They do not get blessing for the affair from their communities which consider the union an abomination, but in the end their love overcomes tribal differences.
They eventually unite the two communities. The production will be staged during the group’s world tour in June.
