Entertainment / Local
Siyaya Arts off to Europe, South America
26 Apr 2013 at 01:58hrs | Views
GLOBETROTTING Bulawayo arts group Siyaya Arts on Tuesday jetted out of the country on a whirlwind tour of Europe and South America.
The tour kicked off in Malta and the group will then continue to the UK, Russia and South America's Chile. The tour is not the first for the group which is regarded as one of the country's top notch performing acts, with their last overseas tour being to the UK in July last year.
Siyaya was formed in 1989, then originally known as Nostalgic Actors and Singers Alliance (NASA) and has proved to be a hit both locally and overseas with their musical Zambezi Express being a main attraction in recent times. The musical has been described as being made of pounding, multi-layered African beats and powerful a capella vocals.
One of the musicals' strong points is Siyaya itself, whose 30-man strong company throws heart and soul into their high energy jumping, jiving and acrobatic dance numbers. The musical revolves around Zilli, a character who finds himself in the throes of an ancestral fight while trying to find his way as a footballer.
The fusion of dance, song and storytelling has proved to be a favourite of many, seeing the group scores a number of invites overseas.
In an interview, the group's media liaison Nkulekelo Nkala said the travelling group will be divided into two, with the initial group comprising Simon Mambazo Phiri, Benhilda Ngwenya, Makula Moyo, Leon Sivako, Ishmael Muvingi and Thubalenkosi Gumede having left for Malta already where they are set to take part in a series of workshops running under the theme, Step Into Africa.
"The first group of guys has already left because right now their focus will not be on performance but on attending workshops in Malta," he said.
Nkala said the second group would only join them later when the focus shifts towards performances. He said they will be sending five more members to join the others for the rest of the tour which will last for two months.
"The second group will join the others after the others are done with the workshops in Malta. The tour will then be focused on performance as they are set to perform at a number of high profile places including the Glastonbury Festival in the UK," he said.
Nkala said that although the group was well travelled, the tour offered them a chance to exchange ideas with other artistes from around the globe.
"The tour is good for Siyaya because it gives them the opportunity to exchange ideas and thoughts with artistes from other parts of the globe," he said.
The tour kicked off in Malta and the group will then continue to the UK, Russia and South America's Chile. The tour is not the first for the group which is regarded as one of the country's top notch performing acts, with their last overseas tour being to the UK in July last year.
Siyaya was formed in 1989, then originally known as Nostalgic Actors and Singers Alliance (NASA) and has proved to be a hit both locally and overseas with their musical Zambezi Express being a main attraction in recent times. The musical has been described as being made of pounding, multi-layered African beats and powerful a capella vocals.
One of the musicals' strong points is Siyaya itself, whose 30-man strong company throws heart and soul into their high energy jumping, jiving and acrobatic dance numbers. The musical revolves around Zilli, a character who finds himself in the throes of an ancestral fight while trying to find his way as a footballer.
The fusion of dance, song and storytelling has proved to be a favourite of many, seeing the group scores a number of invites overseas.
"The first group of guys has already left because right now their focus will not be on performance but on attending workshops in Malta," he said.
Nkala said the second group would only join them later when the focus shifts towards performances. He said they will be sending five more members to join the others for the rest of the tour which will last for two months.
"The second group will join the others after the others are done with the workshops in Malta. The tour will then be focused on performance as they are set to perform at a number of high profile places including the Glastonbury Festival in the UK," he said.
Nkala said that although the group was well travelled, the tour offered them a chance to exchange ideas with other artistes from around the globe.
"The tour is good for Siyaya because it gives them the opportunity to exchange ideas and thoughts with artistes from other parts of the globe," he said.
Source - TC
