August 10, 2006
By Ndaba Dlamini
WEDNESDAY, 9 August dawned a clear, sunny day - perfect weather for a family outing, and, by noon, Newtown was jampacked with people who came to watch their favourite women artists perform at the Women's Day concert.
The concert formed part of the 2006 Women in Arts Festival.
Resplendent in their summer wear, the crowd, mostly young women bent on making the most of the day, sat on camping chairs and blankets spread on the ground with picnic baskets beside them.
The nearby Shivava Café did roaring business and patrons tucked into snacks and beer from the stoep of the café. At the far end of the park, a tantalising aroma of roasting meat wafted through the air as vendors sold food from caravans and gazebos.
Women dressed in Zulu attire dance to the rhythm
Labella Dani kicked off the show at midday, sending the crowd swaying to sounds from her album Still Lonely. For 45 minutes, she kept the audience on their feet and finally made way for Swazi Dlamini. Attractively attired in a purple dress, she got the crowd grooving to numbers from her albums,
My First Love and Dance With Me.
By 2pm the audience had really warmed up and young men who had managed to bring in alcoholic beverages performed dance antics of their own during the intervals, much to the appreciation of the crowd. An enterprising and prudent woman added another dimension as she did some dexterous moves with hoops.
Then it was Phinda Mtya's turn to inject electricity into the atmosphere. Serving up song after song from her new album Mbeka Phesheya, she was well complemented by a backing vocalist who wowed the crowd with his a nibble-footed moves.
Though the crowd clamoured for more of Mtya after her last song, they were soon won over by Dudu Manhenga and her backing group, Color Blu from Zimbabwe. Relatively unknown to many, she proved her talent with her stage antics and renditions of Miriam Makeba's "Iqgira Lendlela" and the much-loved "Shosholoza".
She was followed by a hot favourite, Zamajobe Sithole, who stunned the crowd with her blue and grey outfit and blue headdress as she performed her hit song "Ndawo Yami". The last act of the day was by another of South Africa's most celebrated divas, Gloria Bosman.
Bosman did not disappoint and belted out songs from her album Nature Dances, which had the crowd who had folded up their camping chairs as the afternoon sun waned, screaming for more.
Long after Bosman had left the stage, many people, reluctant to leave and visibly unsatiated, continued dancing to the music played by DJs sending them on their way.
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