The Sunday News
Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday Life Reporter
AS the name suggests, Inkululeko Yabatsha School of Arts is an educational institution, a classroom whose students are learning nothing but the arts.
This, of course, may be partly due to the fact that the group was founded in the classrooms of Mpopoma High School, where a motley crew of arts loving pupils under the guidance of their equally arts-crazed school teacher, Nkululeko Dube, decided to chart a new course in the arts in Zimbabwe.
Twenty-three years after the group was founded, Dube, a man with a passion for the arts and a keen eye for talent, is now in a position to reflect, look back and grade some of the students that have passed through his hands.
Although reluctant, Dube shared with Sunday Life the names of five students who he worked with over the years that made a lasting impression on his mind and laid the ground for the extended period of success that the group has enjoyed. “If I was given a bigger number than five, I would go on and on and not stop because there are a lot of young people that passed through our hands whose work I appreciate,” Dube said.
Futurelove Sibanda
When Chase Skuza remixed his late brother Solomon’s song, Banolila, at the turn of the century, few cared that this was an old track that had already blazed the charts years prior. Perhaps this was mainly because the remixed song came with a blockbuster video that changed many artistes’ approach to visuals.
The video of the song was a visual feast, as Iyasa brought new energy to the solemn lyrics penned by Solomon, injecting a new lease of life into an old tune. The undoubted star of that video was Futurelove Sibanda, who dazzled with his expressive and dramatic dance moves. With that video, a star was born and in Futurelove, who is now based in Vienna, Austria, Dube found a young man who shared his passion for performance and innovation. “I enjoyed working a lot with Future Sibanda, in the early years that Iyasa started simply because he stood out as a young man that believed in himself and what we were doing,” Dube said.
“He was very innovative and as a dreamer he wanted to break boundaries. We grew quite close over the years as we worked together. He became, not only a student but he also became family to me. He is one of the top five people that I look up to.”
Sandra Ndebele -Sibindi
Few artistes in Zimbabwe have had Sandra Ndebele-Sibindi’s staying power. Key to her success has been the ability to innovate and venture into avenues that are usually not associated with the arts. In her two decades in showbiz, Ndebele has constantly reinvented herself, transforming from performer to mother, wife, businesswoman and now, a politician.
For Dube, Sandra’s indomitable spirit and her desire to reach the top in whatever she does exemplifies the true spirit of Iyasa. When the group was formed, the young people at its core had superstardom and long term success in their minds. As she scales new heights, Ndebele has become the living embodiment of the Iyasa dream.
“For simply being whom she is, Sandra challenged me a lot as an artiste. She was one person who believed in what I did and in her own career she has gone on to break boundaries yet she remains humble until this day. She remains thankful and those are two things that I respect in any young person. Sandra has carried on the principles of what we were hoping to achieve as Iyasa,” Dube said.
Prelude Sibindi
Very often when the founding of Iyasa is spoken about, attention goes to the dancers and singers who have dazzled audiences around the globe with their voices and moves. However, for Dube not enough mention is made of the thinkers in the group, the young people whose leadership enabled Iyasa to go from the classroom to some of the most prestigious stages in the world. One of those people is the South Africa based Prelude Sibindi who, after leaving the group, has managed to carve out a successful professional career for himself south of the Limpopo.
“I worked with Prelude Sibindi who is now based in South Africa and we are still in touch as we speak,” said Dube.
“Prelude was a leader in his own right and he also came out to me as a person who was not only an academic but also wanted to prove that he could be a good leader. I enjoyed his leadership skills and the way that he connected me to the young people that I was working with. Up to today, I believe that he is one of our unsung pioneers when it comes Iyasa.”
Sibonisiwe Sithole.
Loyalty. That’s one word that should be used to describe the late Sibonisiwe Sithole. While many came and left, Sithole was the one constant at Iyasa, sticking with the group through thick and thin until her passing on. She lived and breathed Iyasa and only death, which took her in 2020, separated her from the stage.
“I pay a lot of respect to the late Sibonisiwe Sithole not because she is not with us anymore because she was very loyal to Iyasa. I knew her straight from the classroom, where I taught her, and we went on to work together out of school until her passing on. She knew Iyasa and nothing else and that is why I say I respect her loyalty to the institution. She is one person that came and never left,” said Dube.
Cheryl Mabaya
Hailed by some as one of the best dancers to come out of the Iyasa stable, Cheryl Mabaya has left indelible footprints on the country’s showbiz through her immaculate footwork. For Dube, Mabaya, is the face of a generation, an inimitable performer who managed to carry the Iyasa brand after most of the “originals” had left.
“Cheryl Mabaya is from the generation that came before the one that we have currently. She was a young girl that came to Iyasa with dreams and I met her when she was literally a child. She was a hardworking achiever that was highly respectful. I don’t remember a single day of working with her when I found myself under pressure, trying to get to do her work. She was the butterfly because she had a lot of qualities and she changed a lot over time from dance to theatre and music. She became the person who rubber stamped a lot of our work,” said Dube.
