The Lion of Mali Has LandedSalif Keita, the ‘golden voice of Africa’ landed in Harare yesterday afternoon, and shortly afterwards addressed a press conference with Zimbabwe’s princess of mbira, Hope Masike, by his side. He promised HIFA he would play new material and an explosive collaboration with Hope.

His big message was directed at Africa, and he called for us to remember that we are brothers and to stop fighting each other. Don’t miss this massive HIFA Closing Show!

SUNDAY 3 May/Old Mutual Day/ZOL Main Stage/9PM

SUNDAY 03 MAYOLD MUTUAL DAY

THE OFFICIAL DAILY FOR THE HARARE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS 2015

ZOL Main Stage Exudes Heat

HIFA’s ZOL Main Stage was ablaze last night with foot stomping, hand clapping, jig dancing, strobe lighting, and so much more as Perfect Friction and Sonic Wonderland brought Saturday to a glorious close.

First up was the Irish traditional band, Perfect Friction, a five-person Irish group that uses a ridiculously wide assortment of instruments, including fiddle, flute, uillean pipes, concertina, accordion, whistle, bodhran, guitar, and piano. The heat generated on stage wasn’t simply the eye-catching Irish beauties flirting with the crowd. Their music was HOT, and the group not only displayed superbly versatile musicianship, but also showmanship on another level.

Last night the group proved why they have been named All-Ireland champions four times. It didn’t take long for Perfect Friction to get the packed ZOL Main Stage crowd up on its feet and dancing jigs to their lively Irish tunes.

Perfect Friction proved that an Irish band draws a massive and diverse crowd to HIFA, with everyone, from kids as young as 3 years old, to their grandmothers and fathers smiling widely and participating in some energetic foot-stomping.

The Main Stage barely had time to cool down before the next steamy set started. Sonic Wonderland, the much-anticipated night of electronic

dance music – and longest scheduled HIFA show to date - hit HIFA with a vengeance. Five hours. That’s right, the DJs rocked with the crowd for FIVE HOURS. Zimbabwe’s beloved DJ, Jason le Roux came first after the the Djembe Monks had warmed up the stage. Jason held his own as he got the crowd whipped up. Up next was World-renowned DJ and producer, Bliners, who is fast making his mark on the world stage as it were. He also got Harare revelers’ hands in the air during his cranking set. Basshackers rounded it all off as he got the crowd pumping with his beats that kept party-goers dancing late into the night. Rock on HIFA 2015!

ALL IS SET, HE IS HERE!

DAILY PROGRAMMEReviews and Highlights

Cool Collective Reggae on the GreenIt was sound cloning the likes of UB40 mixed with a Bob Marley flavour coming from the Harare Collective, a group of HIFA songwriters and musicians, who played on the Coca-Cola Green Main Stage yesterday.

The group played eight pieces of their own original music, including one called ‘Shepherdless Herd,’ the lead singer Chris Wrigh’s favourite.

The group performed to a crowd of about four hundred people, managing to draw in their audience with their cool reggae sounds, with the help of saxophonist Vee Mukarati, who hopped in to their rescue at the last minute after their trumpet and sax player got stuck in Chimanimani.

With Jairos on keyboard, and Taka on the drums, the group found their groove and brought back old memories with great hits like ‘Zimbabwe’ by Bob Marley and the Eagle’s ‘Hotel California,’ which lifted much of the crowd from their seats by the end of the set.

Sunday 03 May Old Mutual Day

TIME PAGE PRODUCTION PRICE VENUE10AM - 5PM 65 National Gallery

Exhibitions@NGZ NATIONAL GALLERY OF

ZIMBABWE

10AM - 7PM 58 British American Tobacco Zimbabwe Design and Craft Market

Free* GLOBAL QUARTER

10 - 11AM 40 - 41 Marondera Schools Orchestra

Free* COCA-COLA GREEN

10 - 11AM 42 ErictheFred $10 ZB BANK REPS THEATRE

11AM - 12PM 25 Tariro neGitare $10 LAY'S GLOBAL STAGE

12 - 1PM 43 Mpinga Mornings $12 THE STANDARD THEATRE

11:30AM - 12:30PM 47 A Tree To Sing To $8 ZB BANK REPS THEATRE UPSTAIRS

12 - 1PM 40 - 41 Makumbe High School Choir

Free* COCA-COLA GREEN

12 - 1PM 60 Kids Creative Free* THE ROYAL NORWEGIAN EMBASSY DOME

1 - 2PM 55 Shree Vasuki Cultural Group

$8 ZOL MAIN STAGE

2 - 3PM 22 Vee Mukarati Performs $12 LAY'S GLOBAL STAGE

2 - 3PM 52 National Ballet & ROLX $15 ZB BANK REPS THEATRE

2.30 - 3.30PM 26 Folk Influences $8 NMB BANK RECITAL ROOM

3 - 4PM 59 Spoke 'n' Heard $8 HIVOS POETRY LAB

3 - 4PM 47 Zimbabwe Voices 1 $8 ZB BANK REPS THEATRE UPSTAIRS

3.30 - 4.30PM 48 Master Harold and the Boys

$10 THE STANDARD THEATRE

4.15 - 5.15PM 18 Josh Meck $8 LAY'S GLOBAL STAGE

5.30 - 6.30PM 19 Tcheka & Derek Gripper $10 ZOL MAIN STAGE

5.45 - 6.45PM 45 Fair Play - ASSITEJ Mini Festival

$8 ZB BANK REPS THEATRE UPSTAIRS

6 - 7.00PM 18 The Affair $10 NMB BANK RECITAL ROOM

6 .30- 7.30PM 60 Matters of the Art $8 THE ROYAL NORWEGIAN EMBASSY DOME

6.45 - 7.45PM 40 - 41 Silas Miami & Raven Free* COCA-COLA GREEN

7 - 8PM 49 Water Games $10 THE STANDARD THEATRE

7 - 8PM 44 Pss Pss $12 ZB BANK REPS THEATRE

7.45 - 8.45PM 15 Will McNicol & Luke Selby $10 LAY'S GLOBAL STAGE

8.30 - 9.30PM 47 Zimbabwe Voices 2 $8 ZB BANK REPS THEATRE UPSTAIRS

9 - 10.15PM 8 Salif Keita & Hope Masike $20 ZOL MAIN STAGE

10.30PM - 12.15AM 40 - 41 Toby2shoes Free* COCA-COLA GREEN

12.15 - 2AM 40 - 41 Background Music Free* COCA-COLA GREEN

PAN dominates the second Poetry SlamPAN, a Bulawayo based poet, ruled the roost at the second Poetry Slam at the Hivos Poetry Lab on Saturday. His protest themes really shook the crowd as he touched on political and social themes that usually nobody dares to tackle in public.

His bravery quickly won the hearts and minds of his audience, and demonstrated yet again that HIFA’s poetry stage is not simply one for poets to pour out their souls and rhymes, but also a space for thinkers to articulate and encourage discussion about issues that affect all of us.

The Slam had to stop after the second round “because of time,” and PAN had the highest score at that point in the contest. Others who were also strong contenders for the prize included Madzitatiguru, Umind, Black Pearl, and Vocal Da Poet.

Madzitatiguru, who seemed to be the initial crowd favourite and was also the winner of the first poetry slam on Tuesday, did not impress as he did previously. Black Pearl and Umind, both ladies, spoke about love and the audience lapped up their words.

The lesson for today’s slam was: use words to create stories and imagery that affect people’s lives and touch their hearts.

Explosive Moments with Chashe & TinasheThe Lay’s Global stage yesterday hosted one of the most anticipated musical shows of the Festival, as Tinashe and Chashe brought the house down with their fiery set.

Being their first ever show together and their HIFA debut, the show was bound to be something special and they delivered just that.

The duo’s catchy vocals, powered by a tight band and backing vocals, dazzled the packed auditorium. Their performance skills were also on point, as they got the crowd to sing along and dance to their tracks throughout the entire show.

Dropping familiar tracks they’ve recorded individually, such as ‘Hello,’ ‘Africa,’ ‘Dhi’, ‘Love me or Love me not,’ and ‘Moyo muti,’ the two did not just bring smiles to all the lovebirds in the house, but also showed off the wide range of chart-topping songs that make full use of their creative writing skills.

Of course they closed off their set with their hit duet track ‘Zvekupenga,’ much to the glee of the crowd, many of whom promptly jumped out of their seats and joined the singers on the dance floor. Once wasn’t enough, so the singers obliged with an encore performance of ‘Zvekupenga,’ with most of the audience still singing along!

Guidance from Global GuitaristsWith lots of hype ahead of their ‘Global Guitars’ show on Saturday evening at this year’s HIFA, it is no surprise that a guitar workshop was offered on this year’s programme. A few key players from that show led this workshop, presented by the United Nations in Zimbabwe as part of HIFA’s Workshop Programme. Hawaiian slack key guitarists, Keola Beamer and Jeff Peterson, and Kora player, Derek Gripper, all gave individual workshops that specialised in their respective genres and areas of expertise.

Before an audience of budding guitarists, both young and old, the more experienced guitarists generously took time to share their knowledge, skills, and talents, all having had great success with their respective individual HIFA shows. The sounds of Hawaii and West Africa were put on display as the teachers took the eager group of learners through their paces and gave everyone a taste of two very different cultures and styles. The workshop was a great demonstration of the power of music to bring people together and how it connects like-minded individuals, and seemed to be much appreciated by all attendees.

REVIEWS

Harlem meets HarareBirdGang Dance Company, a U.K.-based group of dancers, have brought to us this HIFA ‘A Vice In Harlem’ – an electrifying production that incorporates elements of modern dance and hip-hop. In a retro setting that hearkens back to the era of hoofers and flappers in the 1920s, otherwise known as the “Jazz Age” (a phrase coined by American writer, F. Scott Fitzgerald), ‘A Vice In Harlem’ tells a story of love, sin, and death through jaw-dropping choreography.

BirdGang have performed in many competitions,

representing the United Kingdom in places such as Las Vegas, and now they come to Harare with a refreshing look into the world of dance theatre. Making effective and enthralling use of music, costumes, and lighting, the dancers/actors of BirdGang take the audience into the unsavoury underground world of music and dance from a past period. The jazz and hip-hop genres clash majestically in this “dancetastic” show, brought to HIFA 2015 with assistance from the British Council and the British Embassy in Harare.

Heck of a rough deal for ‘HeLa’What an emotional, infuriatingly unjust story is the tale of Henrietta Lacks, brought to life in the phenomenal one-woman play ‘HeLa’ performed yesterday at the Standard Theatre. So conflicted were you by the end of the play that you weren’t sure whether to applaud loudly or yell in protest at the end of the show.

Henrietta Lacks was a poor black American woman, who walked into a Baltimore hospital for a check-up on severe abdominal pain she was experiencing. She received sub-par medical treatment in the few months before she died from cervical cancer, but during her treatment at Johns Hopkins Hospital a doctor took samples of both healthy and cancerous cells from her cervix. Without her knowledge or consent. The rest is a story of white, mostly male scientists making remarkable scientific discoveries – and building highly successful careers – from her so-called HeLa cells.

While Henrietta Lacks’ story could be viewed as one of remarkable scientific discovery – her cells have helped scientists discover history-changing vaccines and cures, including the vaccine for polio, space biology, cloning, gene-mapping, HIV treatment, the list goes on. But more

importantly it is a tragic story of exploitation of the poor and uninformed – Henrietta’s cells currently live on and exist in 90% of medical labs worldwide and have made others millions of dollars. Henrietta, however, died in pain and poverty, and to this day her family has not benefited directly from the remarkable discoveries that have resulted from her cells.

An outstanding performance from actress and playwright, Adura Onashile, who capably moved through many different roles as narrator, researcher, nurse, Henrietta’s child, or sister. Her powerful one-woman performance was complemented by the mutli-media set that included video news clips of the scientific discoveries related to Henrietta’s genes.

Five star plus performance!

The HIFALutin’ is the Festival’s daily newspaper proudly brought to you this year by SEED CO. The 2015 HIFALutin’ is coordinated with the assistance of Zimbo Jam and is printed overnight and delivered every morning by Sable Press.

PLEASE NOTE:1. In general the bus loads 40 minutes before a show and departs promptly 30 minutes before the show.

2. Usually the bus is waiting at the end of the show, but there may be a small wait If a small wait is involved, the anticipated delay is indicated in the last column of the schedule.

Standard Theater & NMB Recital to Main Gate

Board Depart From To Task Wait at end of show

1.00 pm 1.10 Standard Theater Main Gate Collect from 'Mpinga Morning'

3.30 pm 3.40 NMB Recital Room Main Gate Collect from 'Folk Influences'

4.30 pm 4.40 Standard Theater Main Gate Collect from 'Master Harold'

7.00 pm 7.10 NMB Recital Room Main Gate Collect from 'Eve Kawadza - The Affair'

8.00 pm 8.10 Standard Theater Main Gate Collect from 'Watergames'

ZB Bank Reps & ZB Bank Upstairs to Main Gate

Board Depart From To Task Wait at end of show

11.15 am 11.20 ZB Bank Reps Theater Main Gate Collect from 'Eric The Fred' 15 mins

12.30 pm 12.40 ZB Bank Upstairs Main Gate Collect from 'A Tree To Sing To'

3.00 pm 3.10 ZB Bank Reps Theater Main Gate Collect from 'National Ballet Rolx'

4.00 pm 4.10 ZB Bank Upstairs Main Gate Collect from 'Zim Voices 1'

6.45 pm 6.55 ZB Bank Upstairs Main Gate Collect from 'Fairplay Assitej Minifest'

8.15 pm 8.20 ZB Bank Reps Theater Main Gate Collect from 'Psss Psss' 15 mins

9.30 pm 9.40 ZB Bank Upstairs Main Gate Collect from 'Zim Voices 2'

Main Gate to ZB Bank Reps and Upstairs Reps

Board Depart From To Task Wait at end of show

9.20 am 9.30 Main Gate ZB Bank Reps Theater Carry to 'Eric The Fred' 15 mins

10.50 am 11.00 Main Gate ZB Bank Upstairs Carry to 'A Tree To Sing To'

1.20 pm 1.30 Main Gate ZB Bank Reps Theater Carry to 'National Ballet Rolx'

2.20 pm 2.30 Main Gate ZB Bank Upstairs Carry to 'Zim Voices 1'

5.05 pm 5.15 Main Gate ZB Bank Upstairs Carry to 'Fairplay Assitej Minifest'

6.20 pm 6.30 Main Gate ZB Bank Reps Theater Carry to 'Psss Psss' 15 mins

7.50 pm 8.00 Main Gate ZB Bank Upstairs Carry to 'Zim Voices 2'

Main Gate to Standard Theater & NMB Recital

Board Depart From To Task Wait at end of show

11.20 am 11.30 Main Gate Standard Theater Carry to 'Mpinga Morning'

1.50 pm 2.00 Main Gate NMB Recital Room Carry to 'Folk Influences'

2.50 pm 3.00 Main Gate Standard Theater Carry to 'Master Harold'

5.20 pm 5.30 Main Gate NMB Recital Room Carry to 'Eve Kawadza - The Affair'

6.20 pm 6.30 Main Gate Standard Theater Carry to 'Watergames'

SHUTTLE BUS SCHEDULE

Multicultural Indian Flavoured Dance‘Dhamaka,’ a mind-blowing and eye-popping Indian Dance show staged just once yesterday at the ZB Bank Reps theatre, was unquestionably one of the biggest performances at that venue. It was also, perhaps, one of the most racially diverse shows, both in cast on stage and audience. And did we mention stunning?

Stunning it was, this all-Zimbabwean production, with even the shimmering Indian costumes made locally! The show was sold out before HIFA started, and the crowd that showed up was not disappointed.

Bright, beautiful costumes plus the magnificent bodies of the dancers kept the audience wildly entertained with loud

Indian music accompanying the complicated dance moves. What kept making you shake your head and look again was that this remarkable dance performance was not only danced by those of Indian descent, but dancers of European and African descent proved they were equally up for the task of portraying this elegant dance genre. There was also diversity in the musical accompaniment, with African drumming mixing easily with Indian beats.

“Because this show was sold out, we are having a rerun of this exact performance of Dhamaka from May 13-15 here at the Reps Theatre,” promised the show’s producers. So if you missed yesterday’s show, you will want to catch it then!

Dance Portrays Beauty through Grey TruthsWhen going to a ballet show, you expect to see people wearing tights, doing curtsies, and dancing to classical music, right? Well, yesterday the collaboration of two very different dance companies–the Zimbabwe National Ballet and ROLX–re-defined and re-invented the meaning of ballet through their thought provoking interpretive dance, accompanied by a narration from spoken word artist Peggie Shamva, also known as Umind, in ‘The Colour of Truth is Grey’ at the ZB Bank Reps Theatre.

The production tells the story of a young girl on the journey to self-discovery and the true meaning of beauty, shattering stereotypical norms along her way. It begins with the young lady expressing resentment for society’s general prescription of what is beautiful and what is not, symbolically holding a Barbie doll as she sits on the stage.

The narrator and a host of stunning ballet dancers take us through the evolution of the protagonist’s perspective on beauty,

using poetry and dance to stress the point that real beauty is so much more than skin deep. In stark contrast to the balletic beauties, the ROLX crew burst onto the stage, dancing to up tempo Afro-pop music and delivering a comedic depiction of a day at the Copacabana taxi rank in downtown Harare.

After dancing separately, the National Ballet and ROLX dancers came together to perform several more dance routines to express either the idea of perfection imperfection or vice versa. All in all, another eye-opening and outstanding HIFA performance.