The Sunday Mail
Prince Mushawevato in IMPHAL, India
EXQUISITE! That aptly describes Hwamanda Dance Troupe’s debut performance here at the ongoing Manipur Sangai Festival in Imphal, India.
The tourism festival is a gateway to showcase the cultural diversity and richness of the North Eastern State. The jamboree, which is rated as one of India’s top fiestas, attracts participants from all corners of the globe and has 20 cultural teams from different countries participating this year.
But it is Hwamanda’s throbbing traditional gyrations that have easily made them talk of the show. Delegates seem not to have enough of the Mufakose-based group.
They came into the festival as “minnows” but shortly after their debut performance, directors of the festival started giving the group due recognition and using them to hype forthcoming days of the festival.
Armed with a cocktail of perfected traditional dance routines like “Jerusarema”, “Chinyambera”, “Madanhi” and “Danhe” – Hwamanda is proving to be a formidable force. Rather, they have confirmed beyond doubt that Zimbabwean artistes have potential to conquer the world if they get adequate exposure and funding.
For instance, before attending the Manipur festival, the traditional dance group also took part in a two-day International Dance Festival that was held at Shreyas Foundation in Ahmedabad.
It is at this event that Hwamanda’s manager-cum-group member Lainnot Laimbo surprised many. He literally took charge of proceedings at rehearsals a day before the event, in the process exuding the profound artistry in him.
Laimbo swiftly moved in to assist the choreography director, who appeared to have challenges in creating a combined closing set featuring Indian, Vietnam and Zimbabwean performers.
“He understands music but I noticed that he was failing to fuse our different genres to make us gel hence I decided to help him. Our sound is unique but it is arranged in such a way that it can easily blend with any genre. For instance, in this case the fusing point was through the drum, a thing he took long to notice,” explained Laimbo.
Nonetheless, the dance group manager remains humble.
“This has been an eye opening cultural exchange tour. We have learnt a lot of things from all participating groups and directors. We hope this experience will help us improve with regards to management, stage work and general professionalism,” he said.
Apart from the Manipur Sangai Festival and the International Dance Festival, Hwamanda is also scheduled to take part in two other arts fiestas this week starting in Kolkata before winding up in Delhi. The Indian Embassy in Harare working in collaboration with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) facilitated the participation of the Zimbabwean group.
And Shilpa Bhagat Patel, who is director of the International Dance Festival, notes Zimbabwe contributed to the success of their festival.
“We are happy you came. We also have elections this year thus it has been difficult organising this event,” said Patel.
ZTA executive director national convention bureau, Tesa Chikaponya added the cultural exchange programme is a crucial destination marketing tool.
“Events bring a lot to the economy. Hwamanda dance group has showcased their talents and unlocked a new market for themselves but Zimbabwe will also benefit in the process.
“The response to their act is overwhelming, meaning more groups from Zimbabwe will be invited for these festivals and we will also be inviting more Indian cultural groups to our country. Delegates that come for such events from different parts of the world are potential investors, thus events tourism should be prioritised,” said the ZTA official.
Meanwhile, the eighth edition of the annual Manipur Sangai festival was officially opened last Tuesday by the President of India Ram Nath Kovind.
The 10-day event runs from November 21 to 30. A variety of cultural performances punctuate the festival that pays homage to the shy and gentle Brow-Antlered Deer popularly known as the Sangai Deer, which is found only in the state’s floating Keibul Lamjo National Park in Loktak Lake.
Manipur is considered India’s window to Southeast Asia and a key player in the government’s Act East Policy.
