On May 2, 2016, the “Sway with South Africa” perforamnce was held at the Peking University Hall. The performance was part of the 2016 African Cultural Focus, which aims to promote cultural communication between China and Africa.
The performing team SimunyeAfrika consists of young singers and musicians from South Africa. Growing up in the jungle of Natal, their songs, dance, and Djembe demonstrated a traditional Zulu style. This performance provided the audience with a good opportunity to experience unique African culture.
A couple of shows at the beginning vividly presented the life in a tribe in South Africa. The traditional music was primarily played by the two Djembe players on stage, along with the whistles and singing of the dancers wearing feather headwear and colourful clothes. Their dance was full of passion and vitality, with all parts of their body swaying fast to the ups and downs of the drumbeat. The audiences cheered for their challenging dancing movements. Moreover, the interaction between dancers and the audience was moving. Several audience members were even invited to the stage to dance with them, which pushed the performance to its peak.
Then a group of Chinese teenagers in traditional African clothes also played Djembe on the stage, which represents the cultural communication among youngsters between China and Africa.
Following Chinese teenagers, SimunyeAfrika performed Jazz dance in modern costume. The whole performance was ended with the exciting dance of “Waka Waka”, which is the official theme music of the 2010 World Cup held in South Africa. The stage was brimming with the enthusiasm of all the performers from South Africa and China.
Written by: Fu Jiayu
Edited by: Liu Xiya
