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Entertainment Reporter
Lesley Wiebe is a Canadian woman who came to Zimbabwe a few months ago and fell in love with Zimbabwean art.
She is widely travelled having been to Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, South Africa and many other African countries where she has been involved in social work.
But she says it is Zimbabwean art and talent that mesmerised and enticed her to join the Zimbabwe art jungles.
Wiebe and her associate, Adonis Muronzi, have assembled a group – Zimbabwe Finest Dance Group Association – that they are in the process of registering with the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe.
And last Saturday at the Aquatic Complex in Chitungwiza Wiebe and Muronzi gave glimpses of what they intend to do to Zimbabwe dance groups as they organised a clash of dance groups, dubbed “Harare Best Dance Group”, which had the blessings of the arts body.
Eleven groups from all over Harare converged on the Aquatic Complex on Saturday to showcase their dancing talents and the group Bop Lets from Borrowdale carried the day, walking away with a sound system and T-shirts courtesy of Faith Wear.
Wiebe said the objective of their organisation was to create a platform for dance groups to showcase their talents and shine.
“We want to create an environment where the talented youth can stand up and be counted.
“I am really impressed with the levels of dance talent in the youth.
“I think their only undoing was that they could not get out of their shells,” she said.
Wiebe said they were only focusing on hip-hop dance, which she said has been living in the shadows of other dancing genres in the past.
“Our focus is hip-hop. This genre has for a long time been playing underdog in Zimbabwe dancing circles, so we want to support it, ” she said.
Muronzi, the co-organiser, said several shows were lined up for dance groups as they aim to create an annual calendar of events.
“We will soon be embarking on talent shows and auditions for national dance competitions coming soon
“We are going to make sure that the best hip-hop dance groups in Zimbabwe participate in international dance festivals and exchange programmes,” he said.