Zimbabwean young men and women from Lubangwe, rural Hwange have teamed up to form a traditional dance group with the aim of helping fight against societal ills such as drug and substance abuse.
The group named Touch and Move Lubangwe Performing Arts was formed in March and has six members – Sebenzani Ncube who is the group leader, James Phiri, Anabela Sibindi, Sibonginkosi Mudenda, Norwell Sibanda and Lubinda Mumbuna.
The group specialises in isitshikitsha, amantshomane, indlamu and umtshongoyo, and hopes to include Nambya and Tonga dances.
Ncube said the group’s vision is to educate the community and restore lost cultural values.
“Our vision is to revive cultural values. We want to use music, dance, poetry, and drama to encourage youths to uphold cultural values. We’ve noticed that it’s easy to educate people through edutainment,” said Ncube.
This past Saturday, the group performed at an event at Lanyula Cultural Village together with an all children’s mbira group, Ngoma Yepasichigare Kids from Mhondoro, Mashonaland West.
The owner of Lanyula Cultural Village had invited local traditional leaders in Lubangwe to update them on the progress of the project he is undertaking.
Ncube said they usually play locally at private functions and hope to get a permanent contract to perform as a resident group at the cultural village once it is opened for tourists.
He said while the community has welcomed the group, a lot still needs to be done to impart the idea of using art to transform lives.
“Initially, it was not easy to get support from people, but many are now welcoming us and some even want to join the group. For now, we’re enough but we’ll add new faces in due course,” he said. – @ncubeleon
