The Sunday News
Nkosilesisa Ncube, Sunday Life Reporter
A FASHION Designers Expo will this year introduce a dance against cancer campaign as part of their cancer awareness programme.
The dance against the cancer campaign will premiere in Harare, together with the already established Fashion Fights Cancer in Harare on 11 February and will return to Bulawayo in August.
The brains behind the campaign, Aisha De Beers said because dance was not as recognised as other arts disciplines, it was the perfect medium to use in the fight against cancer.
“I believe the dance industry is not recognised enough and needs to be brought forward with this kind of platform. I already have “Fashion Fights Cancer” where the designers get to express their creativity through fabrics and certain styles, so I thought of dance too where people can express their creativity through movement. It’s all for a great cause so I believe the dances will be something to look forward to, as many people have experienced the pain of losing a loved one to cancer and you get to witness it through their dance,” said De Beers.
Registration for dance crews that are interested in being part of the dance off is free and open to all groups made up of four to eight crew members each and DeBeers urged as many interested groups to register.
“Reception for dance for cancer has been really great. We are still receiving dance group applications and we are open to receiving even more.
I encourage as many groups as possible to come and dance for cancer” she said.
Flash Mob dance will kick start the dance campaign and will be followed by the different groups dancing off in their respective genres ranging from hip-hop to ballet, including everything in between.
The audience will be allowed to pick their best three dance groups and it is from these three that a panel of expert judges will pick the winner.
Dance Fights Cancer comes as just a small part of the full day event that will also include competitions with the public, painting faces, jumping castles, and the main event, Fashion Café Fights Cancer which will be held at Newscafe, Borrowdale in Harare.
The main event will be based around fashion and cancer awareness where six designers will showcase their work and compete for the top spot.
“During the main event, we will have inspirational speakers that have survived cancer coming to share their stories.
“The main purpose of the main event will be to pay a special tribute to the loved ones that we have lost to cancer.
“A percentage of ticket sales will go towards the Cancer Association because there are many families that cannot afford treatment and we want to spread hope and inspiration to the nation,” De Beers said.
—@nkocykay
