Note: This event took place on Tues., Dec. 8, 2009.
Black Umfolosi, a five-member group who performs traditional African songs by singing and dancing, gave a show at the Moose Jaw Cultural Centre on Dec. 8.
The show has a Christmas theme.
The group, which sings a capella and specializes in a type of dancing called gumboot, was formed in 1982 by school friends in Bulawayo, Zimbawe.
The members named themselves after the Umfolozi Omnyama River in South Africa.
According to publicity information about the group, which performs internationally, members sing the songs “in close harmony, mixed with intricate rhythms, clicking, clapping and shouting.
“The singing is complemented with breakaway dance moves that include leaping, stomping, a few shimmies and the odd high kick.”
The group’s harmonic singing tradition was popularized in the west by Ladysmith Black Mambazo, who collaborated on Paul Simon’s hit 1986 world-music and folk-pop album Graceland.
