The Sunday Mail
Fatima Bulla-Musakwa
Youth Buzz
DANCE is an important aspect of Africans’ way of life.
Through it, people are united in showing off their different cultures and beliefs while conveying critical messages.
Bulawayo-based youth Charles Banda has made a name in the arts industry using dance as a medium of social and spiritual communication.
Known by the stage name Mahlaba, the 35-year-old composer and writer is the artistic director of renowned music and dance theatre ensemble Sunduza.
Dance invokes the spirit of celebration in people and Mahlaba is using it as a platform to convey the message of revival and preservation of Zimbabwean culture.
Using dance and music as a form of social commentary and to raise awareness, Mahlaba has participated on platforms such as the Makanda National Arts Festival and KwaMashu in Durban, South Africa.
In Zimbabwe, he has performed at the National Arts Merit Awards (Nama), the United Nations World Tourism Organisation and the SADC Youth Games.
With each passing generation, local cultures and traditions are at risk of being watered down owing to foreign influences.
This particularly affects the youths.
These alien influences come through global interconnectedness brought by technological advancements.
Riding on this tide, Mahlaba has taken his expertise to online platforms, teaching and working closely with SOSA-XA Choir in Sheffield, United Kingdom.
Working in collaboration with Amasiko Lemvelo Trust, he has also embarked on educational programmes in local schools where he teaches budding artistes.
“Young people need to know more about their roots, where we come from because that is the most important thing one needs as a human being.
“Let us not imitate other cultures but let us be who we are and be proud of our culture. We need to preserve it so that we have better leaders tomorrow,” Mahlaba said in an interview.
Mahlaba rose to prominence in 2013, following in the footsteps of his late father, the legendary pioneer of Imbube, Simon “Dr Mahlaba” Banda.
Having pursued a football career with Chicken Inn football club up to the time the team was promoted into the Premier Soccer League, Mahlaba hung his boots to focus on the arts after singing at his father’s funeral in 2012.
Close acquaintances persuaded him to fill his late father’s big shoes and he wasted no time in reviving the Sunduza ensemble.
As a musician, Mahlaba has done well for himself.
He won the Best Jazz PPC at the Zimbabwe Musical Awards in 2021.
He was also nominated for the Best Traditional Folk/Ezomdabuko a year earlier.
A decade after exchanging his football boots for the microphone, Mahlaba is holding fort at the Sunduza ensemble and is now a force to reckon with.
If you know any trailblazing youths email [email protected]
