Gasebalwe Seretse
12 September 2007
For those San culture and tradition lovers who cannot get enough of or have been unable to attend the annual Kuru San Dance Festival, it might be wise to buy the latest DVD, Kuru Dance Festival, 2006.
The DVD starts with the opening night of the festival dubbed
'The Night of Healing', which is normally held on a Friday night around a huge bonfire and is one of the highlights of the international festival that attracts revellers worldwide. According to some sources, during the night of healing the San shamans perform real-life healings although at times, some of the scenes are just acted out.
In this official 2006 DVD, the groups that perform in the healing night include the Qgoo from Bere, the Khwe from Kimberly, South Africa, the Ju/hoansi from Tsumkwe, Namibia, the San from New Xade, Metsianong, Molapo and Mababe, the Naro from New Xanagas and D'kar and the Herero also from D'kar.
Towards the end of the night, visitors were allowed to join all the groups as they danced around, chanting healing songs. In the last scene of the night, a shaman is seen performing some healing ritual on an elderly woman. Unfortunately there is no commentary in the DVD to ascertain that.
The following day, on Saturday, the San performed what is called 'Entertainment Dances'.
All of the above-mentioned groups were joined by the Hambukushu from Etsha and Mohembo, the Khomani from South Africa, the Hai/lom from Etosha, Namibia, the Bugaxoe from Ngarange, the !Xun from Namibia, the Ju/hoansi from Dobe, the Xan Khwe from Shakawe and the show-stealing D'kar pre-school children.
The D'kar pre-school children were among the best performers in the video and that earned them a place on the sleeve of the DVD. The San from New Xade whose acrobatic dance routines are simply amazing only outclassed the young ones.
The Naro from Xanagas are also among the outstanding performers in the DVD.
Some of the abovementioned groups performed during the "Games" session and it is interesting to note that most of the games are infused with dances. Kgengwe (wild-melon), a staple food amongst most San groups dominates the games.
Although the Kuru San Dance Festival is an international event, some people might find the DVD monotonous because the dancing styles of most of the groups are almost the same. Again the picture quality of the video is a bit disappointing but this is understandable since the festival is run by a non-profit making organisation.
As mentioned before there is no commentary in the DVD and this might make it difficult for first time viewers to follow what is happening.
The DVD is a joint venture between the Kuru Trust and Lefoko Production and it costs P 120. The running time is 83 minutes.
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