FROM the shores of SWANSEA via LEEDS CARRIAGEWORKS enroute TO GLASTONBURY WITH JAY ZEE
2008 is definitely our year of greater tests. So far we have grown from strength to more strength to conquer difficulties and achieve targets as well as partially fulfill our dreams. Our growth as a company has brought a new dimension to our work and at the same time brought new challenges and hurdles which have built us into a unit.
The effect of Zimbabwe’s political and economic instability has had a bearing in our operations. From various visa delays (no one seems to believe there are genuine artists travelling out of Zimbabwe with the prevailing situations) which resulted in us missing out on some of our contracted engagements, to being lined up alongside renowned artists like Jay Z and Amy Winehouse at one of the world’s premiere festivals – Glastonbury – really shows artistic life in contradicting extremes.
What started off as a slow year with a lot of inter-city performances in Oxford, York, Cambridge, Birmingham and Bath has slowly picked up to be a busy and promising year. The highlight of the tour so far, which kick-started our summer season,, was our debut performance in Caceres, Spain at the WOMAD Festival, an amazing three days which saw us perform our concert version of the show OnkeOse and also conduct workshop in dance and music for audiences of more than 5000, an experience indeed as we had to work our way around the non-English-speaking audience. A few days upon returning back to Sheffield, which is our international touring base, we had to fly to and from Zimbabwe to fulfill immigration criteria “and get stamps on our passports”, a move that saw us spend days in Harare, the capital (Not our home town) waiting for the issuing of visas and subsequently missed our engagement at Leominster Festival where we were billed to perform for the festival as well as conduct workshop sessions. We would like to take this time to apologise to the organisers, our audiences and fans there we inconvenienced by our non-appearance. Sorry!
While in Zimbabwe the Young Siyaya project was re-launched and the young lads staged a memorable show for the touring artists and invited guests as well as members of the press. Young Siyaya performed Thatha and wowed the audiences with the way they managed to reproduce the old show. Young Siyaya is now fully functional in Zimbabwe with a wide range of performances and are available for bookings in weddings, festivals, and private and corporate functions. As is the culture at Siyaya, one of the Young Siyaya artist was promoted into the touring cast and we are pleased to introduce to our international audiences our newest recruit Sibonokuhle `Mercy`Sithole from our juniors policy.
Tuesday the 17th of June saw Siyaya in collaboration with Umdumo Wesizwe perform at the 1000-seater Swansea Grand Theatre in Wales and received a standing ovation for the performance of OnkeOse. Next stop is the Leeds Carriageworks then the Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Arts. Also billed to perform there are American R n B artist Jay Zee and reggae super star Jimmy Cliff. Siyaya is also billed to conduct numerous workshops for WOMAD festival as well perform on the main stage with a 120-strong children’s choir during the official opening of the festival. Next junction is the 3000-seater Llangollen International Eisteddfod scheduled for the 10th of July. Word is we are sold out!!
Indeed there is little doubt that this is a challenging year for Siyaya as we are also in rehearsal reproducing our 1996 show ‘Zwelethu’ for the Newcastle audiences. The show premiers at Dance City on the 4th of July.
We continue with our quest to bring live arts to the people and with everyday we perform our engagements continue to grow and so will our updates on this page. Keep watching this space for further updates and check our tour schedule for the venue nearest to you
Siyaya Nomakanjani
Thulani Sibanda
Administrator
Saimon Mambazo Phiri
Producer/Director
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