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Mbulelo Mpofu, [email protected]

THE 15-day “Performing Arts Business and Digital Distribution” workshop kicked off on Tuesday with women constituting the bulk of the participants.

Women constitute over 58 percent of the participants at the workshop, a significant rise in the male-dominant sector.

Representatives from diverse women-led dance groups including Thandanani Women’s Ensemble, Iluba lemvelo and individual dancers attended the workshop, and took part in an “Arts Management Training” facilitated by the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) Executive Director Nicholas Moyo.

The project, aimed at hastening development, improving digital, management, business skills, efficiency, and facilitating recognition as well as standardisation of salaries, and performance fees in the dance sector among cultural and contemporary dancers, dance groups, choreographers, and dance associations.

In his keynote address, Chenhaka Trust Executive Director Taurai Moyo outlined a gory statistical smorgasbord with regards to the welfare of arts practitioners.

“We received a total of 27 applications from 20 cultural and contemporary dance groups, one dance association, and six individual dance practitioners from Bulawayo, Matabeleland North and South. Unfortunately, there were no applications from Midlands Province. All in all, applications from these respondents had a total number of 67 individual’s comprising 39 women, and 28 men.

“Only two out of the 17 selected organisations are registered for tax with the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, which is a true reflection that there is a lot of work that needs to be done to implement tax compliance in the dance sector. 98 percent of the selected groups do not have legal representatives and only two percent of them have their members covered for medical, and funeral insurance,” he said.

Reacting to changing worldwide trends in the creative sphere, Moyo urged performing artists to adopt a paradigm change in how they do things.

Isaiah Mpofu, stood in for guest of honour, Minister of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture, Kirsty Coventry.

For the five categories, three days will be allocated to each topic and complementary to the Arts Management and Financial Literacy training, Artistic Freedom and Decent Work, Performing Arts Digital Distribution Skills, Booking and Tour Management, Stage Management and Lighting Design, and Tax Compliance and Obligation will follow suit.

Performing artistes welcomed the workshop. 

Thandanani Women’s Ensemble’s Agneata Ntutha and Nomalungelo Mpengesi said the rise in the number of women joining the art form signifies growth.

A youthful Nothando Ndlovu said the workshop was an eye-opener. — @MbuleloMpofu