Master Dancer Ronnie Daliyo is Back in the Bay Area!
Ronnie is now here! In November 2006, Tawanda muChinyakare announced our intention to host musician/dancer Ronnie Daliyo of Zimbabwe for a six-month stay in Oakland. He arrived mid-June is collaborating and performing with the Chinyakare Ensemble and will be teaching in the area. We are still in need of funds to repay loans for his plane ticket. Please contact Julia Tsitsi Chigamba nditsitsi@yahoo.com or Russ Landers russ@chinyakare.com if you can help.
Mr. Daliyo, or Ronnie as many of you know him, was principal
dancer with Mhembero Dance Company for ten years. He is a powerful and inspiring artist and
teacher. While in the US in 2005 he awed audiences throughout California, New Mexico, New York
and the Pacific Northwest. As a workshop instructor here in Oakland, at the Zimbabwe Music
Festival in Washington, at the Mosaic Men's retreat in Mendocino, and at many other schools and
studios on the tour Ronnie guided and encouraged hundreds of adults and young people.
Chigamba Family Tour
When: April 1 - August 15, 2005
Where: North America
Tute and Irene Chigamba, father and daughter of the
internationally-known
Chigamba family and founders of Mhembero Dance Troupe of
Zimbabwe, returned
to North America for the first time in several years.
They were joined by Ronnie Daliyo, principal dancer and
musician in Mhembero
Dance Troupe since 1993, and Julia Chigamba, lead dancer and musician
who is
now based in Oakland, California. The ten-person Chinyakare Ensemble
which
Julia directs joined the family for some performances.
Tute Chigamba was born into a family of traditional and
spiritual musicians. The son of a master drummer and dancer, Chigamba
has kept the traditions of
his musical heritage alive so that now many of his own children and gra
ndchildren lead others in carrying on these traditions. A key player at
ceremonies
during the struggle for independence from 1972-1979, Chigamba's
popularity has
since spread not just across Zimbabwe, but throughout the world. He has
introduced thousands of people to mbira and now receives students from
many
countries at his home in Zimbabwe where he continues to compose songs,
make mbiras and
hold healing ceremonies.
Irene Chigamba, Founder and Artistic Director of Mhembero
Dance Troupe since
1984, learned to play mbira from the age of eight by watching her
father. Her
training in Zimbabwean traditional dance began with her father, mother
and
relatives in the village. Later, as a longtime member of the National
Dance Company of Zimbabwe she
learned about the performance and cultural context of dances from other
regions
of Zimbabwe, and gained choreographic skills that guide her work with
Mhembero
today. Irene teaches mbira, drums, marimba and dance both privately and
at
the Zimbabwe College of Music. She continues to research traditional
dance and
music in an effort to preserve the culture in Zimbabwe. Together and
independently, Irene and Tute have performed in USA, Canada, Australia,
Germany,
England, Austria, Mozambique, Zambia, Russia, India, North Korea, China
and
Malaysia among other countries.
Ronnie Daliyo, cousin of the Chigamba family, has been a
dancer and musician
with Mhembero since 1993. He performs and teaches dance, drumming,
marimba
and vocals.
Julia Chigamba, after many years dancing with Mhembero Dance
Troupe, came to
the USA in 1999. Two years later, in Oakland, California, she
established the
organization Tawanda muChinyakare and the music and dance company
Chinyakare
to share the beauty and wisdom of her culture in the USA. Julia
continues to
teach dance, music and culture in Oakland schools and in the
community.
see Mhembero Brochure
