Born for the stage

Her name is Velile Dube who has, through her aptitude in dancing, secured herself a role in the cast of Mbongeni Ngema’s Committed Artist’s Number 43, a musical production choreographed to tour international countries.

The musical is based on the book authored by Elias Masilela about the famous Trelawney Park, which was the African National Congress’s (ANC) safe house in Swazi-land during the apartheid era.

Shooting for the musical has already begun as it is set to be showing in December. Ngema has selected five Swazis, Dube included, to be part of the production because of its relevance in Swaziland.

The latest breakthrough was just what she needed to remind herself of her capabilities when it came to dancing.

It is difficult being a dancer in the kingdom because there are few platforms to showcase this skill.

When we finally met for the interview, which she was avoiding, she was dressed to kill in red skinny jeans and she had male colleagues from the newsroom making aimless trips around us.

She asked gently what I wanted to know about her experience during the stint preparation for the production.

She sighed as she spoke about the hectic daily schedule, which required that they work for more than 15 hours a day.

The dancer bared her soul and spoke candidly about her experience.

I don’t want to sound pompous but they were the type of auditions I have attended and I was not nervous at all. It helped me to relax and I gave the best performance, which I think is what got me noticed.

It was tough, especially the workshops in Durban because it was the first time I auditioned for a professional theatre project where you are required to be on stage for more than three hours. The early days were the most hectic because we had to do two hours of exercise, though I was a fitness instructor before, I felt it was intense. Another challenge was that I was not experienced when it came to music but having to be part of the crew I had to learn quickly because they basically train us in all aspects of theatre including acting, voice production and tap dancing. Unlike in art schools where you learn the theory of theatre, the production was more practical. We were taught how to project our voices. What I liked the most was the fact that the different instructors had so much passion and they worked hard to bring out the best in each of us.

There is one particular woman I called Sister V who was very helpful in the musical aspect and she is extremely talented. After mastering the music we went through to Ma Gumede’s class who does the choreography for more than two hours. That woman has a supernatural energy and loves what she does. Then the contemporary dance class, which I enjoy so much as it is in my line of dance, here we did the stretching and ballet. While we were busy with that Ngema would come in around 4pm in the afternoon and we would work till late. That is a very dedicated man who is extremely talented. What I have learnt so far is that artists are genuine people because before the final cast was even chosen, we were like a family, which made it difficult for Babe Ngema to select the final cast of 43. As a result, he ended up selecting 49. Basically, I have learnt a lot and I can now safely say I can sing, which is something I didn’t know before.

It’s the two hour exercises and tap dancing. There was a day when we had to run up a steep hill and trust me, my thighs are still screaming. The tap dancing is also a challenge as I am not used to it.

It was when Ngema selected the final cast for the play, seeing others leave yet you had been so close was very emotional. Even Ngema said everyone was talented he was finding it hard to pick and choose.

We had to learn a Portuguese song from the Mozambique cast members. That was funny because we didn’t know the language but we had to learn it, fast!

Well, Swaziland relies largely on natural talent yet South Africans have art schools to complement their talent. However, there was not much of a difference between us and South Africans. I personally think Zaza was better than some of the other South Africans.

Definitely! It was during our performance in Durban when one of the lead singers, Sister V, was having a problem with her voice. Zaza was called to blend Sister V’s voice and take the song to a high pitched tone and her voice perfectly achieved what Ngema wanted.

I am planning to be on stage for the next five years and then start something of my own after. I want to either open a dance studio or a theatre production because most of the people who own dance schools also started somewhere.

I was working for Whole-Sum-Living Group as a fitness instructor where I conducted body blitz classes and also a children’s programme called Kids Blitz. I taught children how to exercise their bodies and took them through nutritional education, which has helped me a lot in the musical production. I have also worked at The Times of Swaziland as an Entertainment Reporter as well as at Swazi TV as a presenter.

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