PROLIFIC choreographer Tafadzwa Tandi-Chingono, popularly known as Tichaona Hillary Indi, has urged dance practitioners to be the best versions of themselves.
Indi, who is also the founder and director of the Elysium Magna Dance Theatre, has been in the dance industry for close to two decades and was nominated for the National Arts Merit Awards (Nama23) in the Outstanding Choreographer category together with Future Dube of Khaya Arts Productions and Tichaona Chikara from Salt ’n Light.
The other dance categories are full of surprises, especially in the Outstanding Female Dancer category, where the nominees are Tanaka Machikicho (in Into The Light), Ellain Ncube (in Black Fever) and Celine Madziva (in Respect My Team).
The Outstanding Male Dancer nominees are Ngonidzashe Mudyariwa, aka Alvin Ngonie, in Ndichatarisa, Tichaona “Hero’’ Chikara in Into The Light and Terrence Kapesa in Respect My Dream.
The Outstanding Dance Group or Production has Salt ’n Light for Into the Light, Khaya Arts Productions for UniAfrica and Afrikera Arts Trust for Ndichatarisa.
For Indi, it is all about what dance artists commit themselves to be known for.
Their hard work accounts for the rewards they get while lack of commitment to duty is synonymous with lack of recognition and mediocrity.
“Dancers are what they repeatedly do, so if you are a person who works hard and does that consistently all the time, it will pay off. For a person who is lazy and procrastinates and does not put themselves fully into all they do, simply get minimum results. One must have a passion and drive to perfect their career,” he
said.
“I would like to thank the sponsors who have managed to put dancers into the limelight. We need to encourage the corporate sponsors to pay the dancers well and on time. The world has a misconception that artists appear in adverts and films to gain exposure, they do that for a living and need to be
paid.”
Commenting on his nominations, Indi said: “It feels great year in, year out to be nominated in awards ceremonies. It’s either Elysium Dance Theatre Magna or Hillary Indi as a director or choreographer and I believe we must be doing something right. We got ourselves a gong during the past year and we accept that even the nomination is way good enough for recognition.
“Elysium Magna send through the production of The Birth of Christ among other submissions. Our other submissions failed to impress the adjudicators because of an innumerable number of reasons which among them is lighting and the mastering
format.
“Anyway, we continue to do what we do not because we aim to get an award but to show to the world the best of what can do. The Birth of Christ was a two-hour production of a fusion of dance and theatre stage disciplines synonymous with the Elysium Dance Magna.
“The creativity process of Elysium Magna is different and we have employed a lot of stage disciplines in our productions that have given the audience a wide variety of choices and feelings and set many moods and ambiances and sometimes simultaneously together.
“The work that Elysium does is not only from the passion in what we do but it is joined by the elements around us. The gong is a plus to us and we are happy with the nomination. I am mostly looking for merit not only in our category but in every category more than anything else. We need merit, we deserve the honour.
“I would like to advise up-and-coming dancers to pace up their work and acquire more skill. Develop more skills and a strong sense of discipline to get merits. Just being a dancer is not enough, artists need to be multifaceted so that they navigate through the arts industry which is getting more complex. When opportunities come, they always come with combinations for example poetry and dance, dance and singing, music and dancing. People who rely on one discipline usually fall by the wayside.”
Hillary was born and raised in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
He began his dance training at a young age, studying ballet, modern and traditional Zimbabwean dance forms.
He later did further training at the Zimbabwe Academy of Music, where he earned a diploma in dance.
His choreographic style is a unique blend of traditional Zimbabwean dance forms, contemporary techniques and modern expressions which explore themes of identity, culture and social justice and are characterised by their energy, passion and emotional
depth.
