African Village Saturday June 24, 2006 http://www.worldbeatfestival.org/program.htm 6:00-7:00 Loveness Wesa and Kgotso: In 2001, Ms. Wesa became her country's first woman theatrical producer when her theatre company brought the dance drama Brooms to the Amakhosi Township stage in Zimbabwe. Loveness founded the Kgotso African Dance Theatre as a vehicle for bringing works by women artist to Zimbabwe's stage, promoting peace and understanding through music and dance.

Kgotso Drumming Project

http://www.amakhosi.org/residentartists.html
Inspired by the need to preserve her cultural heritage and bring high quality African entertainment to the attention of the world, Loveness Wesa, came up with Kgotso Drumming Project. Probably among some of the foremost dance artists to come out of the centre, Wesa, is among the league of Tongesayi Gumbo and the late Princess Dlamini.
Her first play, Brooms, caught the imagination of the entire industry because of its sheer beauty and artistic maturity. In coming up with the production Wesa borrowed from a lot of cultures that included the Ndebele, Shona, Venda and Tswana cultures.
The story of Brooms simply revolves around the theme of female liberation from traditional chores. In Brooms, what is more interesting are the songs. There are over 11 songs that are accompanied by beautifully choreographed dance routines. In this play Wesa shows her prowess in dance choreography.
She is currently based in the United States of America, where she has continued with her work. However she is still involved with the arts back home, where she produces shows when she is on holiday.

	click on these images to read about Loveness Wesa and Kgotso African Dance

QUEENS OF AFRICA - A SILENT AUCTION & BENEFIT CONCERT For Kgotso African Cultural Arts featuring Loveness Wesa MUSIC, DANCE, KIDS' ACTIVITES, FUN FOR ALL AGES! Thursday, April 20, 2006 6:00 PM - Doors / Kids Activities & Silent Auction Begins 7:00 PM - Benefit Concert & Show Begins (ends 10:00 PM) Featuring... MLC Kids Marimba Band Loveness Wesa and Kgotso African Cultural Arts African Drumming and Traditional Zimbabwe Instruments Kukuva Marimba and MORE! Wonder Ballroom 128 NE Russell, Portland

Portland is fortunate to have Zimbabwean performing artist Loveness Wesa in our midst. A talented singer, dancer and teacher, Loveness was first exposed to the traditional music and dance of her country as a small child watching her mother, aunt and grandmother who were Sangomas - the traditional spirit mediums who use song and dance to channel ancestral spirits.
In 1998 Loveness founded the Kgotso ("Peace") African Dance Theatre as a vehicle for bringing works by women artists to Zimbabwe's stage. In 2001 Ms. Wesa became her country's first woman theatrical producer when she brought her dance drama "Brooms" to the Amakhosi Theatre in Bulawayo. Loveness Wesa made her American debut in 2004 as a choreographer with her production Langivela Khona (Where I Come From), a dance theatre piece based on the stories of young African refugees and immigrants living in Portland, Oregon.
Now, Loveness is working to bring five female performing artists (all single moms) to the United States for her "Queens of Africa from the City of Kings" tour, scheduled to begin in August 2006.
The Center for Intercultural Organizing invites you to support the Queens of Africa tour by attending a fundraising event on April 20th. Help Loveness and Kgotso African Cultural Arts can share their art and culture with communities across the country!

Dance Theatre Performs The Kgotso African Dance Theatre will be performing Langivela Khona (Where I Come From): Stories of Young African Refugees and Immigrants at the 2005 Oregon Association of Marriage and Family Therapy's annual conference. The performance, created by Loveness Wesa, will take place during the lunch break from 12:45 – 1:15 p.m.

Wesa's Statement About Langivela Khona
Who are the immigrants and refugees of Mother Africa? We are the descendants of those brought here in shackles hundreds of years ago and we are the new African Diaspora, refugees and immigrants who have come to American like so many others seeking a better life. We left our homes because of war and famine, to find better jobs and to pursue our education. We came to go to graduate school, to have enough to eat and to be with our families and loved ones. We come from rural villages where we have never seen electricity and plumbing. We come from big cities where we live in high rise apartment buildings. We were farmers, students, business owners, engineers and lawyers. We are the PhD’s in Biochemistry who are changing your parent’s bedpan. We speak four languages fluently yet are thought to be ignorant because we speak English (our fifth language) with a heavy accent. African-Americans don’t understand us because we seem different. Whites are afraid of us because we are black. We are the mother in a veil who has a daughter covered with piercings and tattoos. We eat McDonalds for lunch and sadza (fufu) for dinner. We are grateful for the opportunity to live in America and yet we still miss our home. We are the immigrants and refugees from Mother Africa and this is “Where we come from.”

View video of this performance here...