The 11th edition of Zimbabwe’s sole dance festival, Jibilika Festival is set to kick off from the 11th to the 13th of October in Harare with the organisers adopting new formats including cheerleaders, skaters and graffiti artists among others.
The festival which has been running for more than a decade has a new format as it seeks to develop young artists.
“The festival has a new format now. It’s no longer just a dance festival. We took a three year plan to transform the festival first from a one day event to two then now to three and that also meant changes to the programming to accommodate more youth culture elements
“We want to develop and empower a complete young artist by offering various skills, exposure and opportunities.
“Our theme is Renewal and Wow which we are calling Renewal! The new format brings new energy, new imagination, new elements and a wow factor. It challenges young people to dream and paint a new beautiful Zimbabwe,” read a statement from the organizers.
“This year we will be working with cheerleaders, skaters, graffiti artists, fashion designers, musicians and dancers from all over Harare and Zimbabwe. The festival will be taking place in the CBD with certain outreach events taking place in locations such as Mbare where we have a cleanup and fashion program as part of an anti-cholera drive.
The festival selected 10 groups from each of the country’s 10 provinces to take part in the national finals, with the thrust of the event being to stimulate dance as a means to empower, build capacity and develop talent among young people.
