Cape Dreams News from in and around the Cape
CAPE TOWN, February 12 – After seeing some of the Cape Town Carnival’s larger-than-life costumes recently, The Hong Kong Tourism board invited and paid for a large group of Carnival performers to take part in the internationally-acclaimed Cathay Pacific International Chinese New Year Night Parade which took place a few nights ago in Hong Kong.
“This fantastic opportunity points an arrow at our skilled costume design and level of creativity, suggesting that South African Carnival performers are equally suited to perform at international festivals and parades, much like the International Chinese parade,” comments Jay Douwes, CEO of the Cape Town Carnival.
The Cape Town Carnival put together a fantastic routine comprising of the Likhwezi Arts Project that have performed at the Cape Town Carnival for over eight years. “We have created a strong African performance that showcased the amazing talent we have in this country,” says Pamela Mtati, group leader of the Likhwezi Arts Project.
The song, Mambhele was also carefully chosen for the performance, as it needed to resonate with the African influence, and is performed by the Abavuki Marimba band, which are from Langa in the Cape.
The grandiose costumes chosen were tribal costumes with giant headgear, the beautiful and elegant Protea and an intricately made elephant.
The dancers were dressed in loud yellow and black costumes with a strong traditional Xhosa design. “This is our time to showcase South Africa and all its incredible talents in costume and dance,” says Douwes. – Editing by Herman Gibbs