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Zimbabwe: Savanna Trust's Show Wows Lalapansi Community
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 Published by the government of Zimbabwe |
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The Herald (Harare)
9 May 2008
Posted to the web 9 May 2008
Harare
Wadzanayi Farm was a beehive of activity last weekend as artistes from different genres descended on the small community of Lalapansi, about 42km from Gweru.
Savanna Trust, a highly-acclaimed organisation that focuses on promoting arts, had one mandate when they decided to invade the community: to "transform communities through the arts".
Organiser of the event Ruth Makumbiropa described the role of her organisation as one of changing communities through the arts, saying the reason they had decided to take up such a task was the realisation that artistes and promoters were "confining themselves to cities" while neglecting small places like Lalapansi.
Stairbridge Kadoma, Banyana Bafana and Mambokadzi are some of the big names that mesmerised the 300-plus crowd of young and old people who braved the hot afternoon sun to witness a once in a lifetime performance by groups most of them had never seen or heard of. The venue, an open space farmyard, proved to be the best place for such an event as it was not only big enough for the crowds but was comfortable with the smell of cow-dung mingled with the chirruping of birds, making the show unforgettable. Stairbridge Kadoma kick-started the show with a splendid performance, a drama called Wasted Nights, which was basically a delineation of the trials that married couples go through at the mercy of society and tradition.
As the day progressed, dance floor connoisseurs Mambokadzi took to the stage and the all-female outfit managed to evoke a massive response from the crowd as evidenced by the hand clapping, nodding of heads and ululating.
Toothless grins could be spotted here and there as old people who seemed to have taken a fancy at the ensemble smiled and laughed throughout the performance. Many thought the action was over when Mambokadzi left the stage but Banyana Bafana proved them wrong. The Bulawayo-based group seemed to capitalise on the already electric mood created by their predecessors when they took to the stage.
Dancing to some rhumba and house music, the group wowed the crowd with their highly engaging and artistic dance moves. To add flavour to the show, poet Ticha Muzavazi left his audience in stitches with a Shona poem which was quickly accepted as the crowd could relate to the recital which was mainly about them and their culture.
Another drama by Translucent Inc that was looking at how the youths should be united just about had people falling off the benches in gales of laughter. "I have never had so much fun in my life. I want to thank Savanna Trust for making such an effort to come here because for some of us this is a once in a lifetime event that we shall always cherish," said 19-year-old Juliet Mangwiro, a resident of Lalapansi.
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Another resident pleaded with media people at the event to sell Lalapansi as a viable destination for any sort of entertainment gigs. "Please let promoters in Harare know that entertainment in Lalapansi is a brisk business that they can count on. We are starved of entertainment this side, there should be more organisations like Savanna Trust," said the teenage girl, only identified as Rosie. Mambokadzi once again took to the stage and topped off the evening with a stellar performance of Joseph Garakara's hit track Idya Banana. There might not have been fireworks ablaze, but the smiles and grins on the faces of people were more than fireworks.
It was a climatic way to end an absolutely exhilarating evening and it was quite clear from the way that the people dragged themselves off to their homesteads that they did not want the evening to end.
"We have accomplished our mission here. In Harare there is the Harare Festival of Arts but we have decided to share that with the people of Lalapansi and turn it to Lalapansi Festival of Arts," said Makumbiropa.
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