The Sunday News
Rumbidzai Mbewe, Sunday Life Correspondent
SOUTH Africa’s Got Talent opened doors for him and his career is growing.
As young as 21, Chik Aljoy, born Aljoy Anesu Chikowo said he is on a mission to prove that he is the first black ventriloquist in Africa.
“This is something I want to prove out there and proving it will make me feel great. Right now it feels good but it doesn’t feel that good because not everyone in Africa knows, I want everyone in Africa to know and that’s the greatest moment in my life I am waiting for,” he said.
Ventriloquism, or ventriloquy, is an act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) changes his or her voice so that it appears that the voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a puppeteered “dummy”. The act of ventriloquism is ventriloquising, and the ability to do so is commonly called in English the ability to “throw” one’s voice.
The young ventriloquist said he will be coming to perform in Zimbabwe because that is where his career began. Chik Aljoy said he will be doing his one-man show in December this year and he also mentioned that his manager is working on bringing another show to Zimbabwe where he will perform with another Zimbabwean comedian who is based in Namibia.
“My manager Van Vodloza is still working on the dates for the show but we are definitely coming to Bulawayo, my home town. I will be cracking jokes together with my brother from another mother, Courage, who is based in Namibia and I am sure we are going to kill it. At the moment I want people to get geared up for my one-man show at the end of this year,” he said.
Chik Aljoy said he has ventured in a lot of avenues as far as entertainment is concerned. He started off as part of a dance group from Sizinda called Khaya Arts before he relocated to South Africa.
“I have been entertaining people for six years now through dancing, acting and now comedy. I also did acting at Hilbrow Theatre and all this has been amazing for me,” he said.
He said South Africa’s Got Talent 2016 was an amazing experience for him and it was a great platform for him to introduce himself to the people not in South Africa only but Africa as a whole. For him the show was the first step in the positive direction for his career.
“Being part of the show became a learning curve for me because it helped me groom myself into a better ventriloquist every week. The show introduced me to the world and I am very happy that I chose to walk this path because it has bettered my life,” he said.
Chik Aljoy said the business of making people laugh was not a tough one but all he hopes for in every show is to make people forget their worries and laugh them out. He said material for his shows are derived from everyday life experiences delivered in a humorous way.
“Most of my jokes are life stories and experiences that I and people around me go through. It comes from observations in the community and all I do is try and present them in a manner that everyone understands and relate to in a funny way,” he said.
Life has not always been rosy for him. At one time he stayed in the streets of Gweru after having a fall out with his stepmother. His uncle who stayed in Harare then rescued him and took him to South Africa to further his studies.
“I once stayed in the streets, the relationship I had with my stepmother was not a healthy one, that’s what pushed me out of the house. That’s all in the past now, I look forward to a greater future which I have begun,” he said.
