A relatively new South African dance company, FlamenKhoi, was last Saturday in the capital unfurling ancient traditions and celebrating the universality of music, song and dance from Spain and the hinterlands of Southern Africa.
In an exhibition show held on October 11 at Reps Theatre in Harare, the year-old dance ensemble blends Spanish flamenco and African dance, into a captivating performance transcending the boundaries of human creativity and cross-cultural innovation.
FlamenKhoi is a fusion of the Spanish flamenco dance with the rhythmic but ritualistic traditions of the Khoi San (mainly from Botswana) and other dance styles of the African sub region.
Flamenco is a vibrant folkloric performance which combines song, guitar and dance, influenced by various cultures of the Mediterranean, North Africa and even India. It mainly involves hand-clapping, finger snapping and strong rhythmic foot stomping.
The Khoi San dance is a spiritual expression often associated with rainmaking rituals of Southern Africa and its key features involve song, congas, shakers and foot stomping.
The show — named Dancing in the Dust — seamlessly blends the vibrant rhythms of flamenco, Khoi San and other African traditions, into “a celebration of the intertwined histories of Africa and Europe (especially Spain), two continents which have shaped the world in profound ways” by way of the elements, namely fire, earth, air and water.
But the performance was also meant to coincide with the Spanish national day, October 12.
The dance spectacle, however, received a standing ovation from the crowd drawn mainly from the diplomatic community, business people and arts afinados.
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The eight-member dance troupe is led by Rosana Maya, a choreographer and performing artist in fine ballet, teacher in flamenco dance and a costume designer.
The other members are dancers Isaac “Pinky” !Xu Ramagole, Komani Hara, Cari-Juane Wessels and Leela-Lind Devar, guitarists and musicians Micah Myles and Lebong Lechela and vocalist Nobulhe “Pretty N” Ngcobo.
The dance troupe also used the occasion for the Zimbabwean launch their debut album, Dancing in the Dust, which is available on streaming platforms.
In an interview with IndependentXtra, Spanish embassy’s Deputy head of mission Inés Mena Gómez de Merodio said her country would want to widen the areas of collaboration and facilitate networking between artists from the two countries.
“Last year, we brought in two classic guitarists from Spain in October. And this year we thought it could be fun and interesting to bring something different and we are happy to bring this mix of cultures from Spain and Africa,” Mena Gómez de Merodio said.
“Though the two (cultures) seem very far apart in distance, but as we have seen today (during the FlamenKhoi performance), there is a lot in common between the two cultures.”
However, she said though there seemingly has been a dearth in collaborations between Zimbabwean and Spanish artists in recent years, the embassy looks to facilitating more of these from next year.
“We hope to do many other cultural events right into the festive period, particularly collaborations and for purposes of networking,” she said.
In May this year, the embassy facilitated a visit by a Spanish designer who held several workshops and mentorships with local designers.
“So what we have done as of now is to bring in Spanish artists, from various backgrounds, to participate and collaborate in local festivals and workshops such as the Jacaranda Music Festival and the Music Crossroads academy, which was held in October last year.”
Last year in November, the embassy also brought in an opera performer, Luis Llaneza — a specialist in Spanish repertoire of all genres — who held workshops and even sang with St Mary’s High school choir from Chitungwiza. This was a collaboration with a Zimbabwean pianist Jeanette Micklem and the school’s choir director Christopher Tapera and conductor Kelvin Saungweme.
Llaneza also lectures on vocal music and conducts courses on traditional Spanish music all over the world.
