Zimbabwean Traditional Dance Class
Saturday, July 12, 2025
3:00 PM - 3:50 PM
PUSH Sanctuary | 447 Minna Street San Francisco, CA 94103, 3rd Floor
Cost: $0-$60
Drop-ins welcome
Join me for a Zimbabwean Dance Class as part of the 2025 World Arts West Dance Festival at PUSH Sanctuary, San Francisco. This year’s theme is “Dance as Health and Healing”, which we as a community desperately need in these current times. No previous dance experience needed! All levels welcome!
Zimbabwean Traditional Dance class with Kanukai will explore the techniques, rhythms, and traditional dances of Zimbabwe. We will learn and practice dance moves that involve moving across the floor, and conclude with a mini-choreography. The class will be accompanied by live music on traditional instruments such as marimbas and ngomas.
ABOUT
Kanukai Chigamba is a multifaceted dancer, musician, performer, and burgeoning photographer. She started dancing at a young age in Harare, Zimbabwe, at Biras and as part of Mhembero Dance Troupe. She is the Assistant Director of the renowned Chinyakare Ensemble, and principal in Gbedu Town Radio, a Pan Afro Urban Music and Dance Ensemble. Chigamba has performed all over the United States, including at the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, Oregon Zimfest, Monterey Bay Reggaefest, Stern Grove Festival, Carnegie Hall, Princeton University, and Oakland Museum of California. She currently resides in the Bay Area where she performs and teaches in elementary and middle schools. Her travels to Togo, Nigeria, and her work with Yoram Savion/YAK Films, Julia Chigamba, Nkeiruka Oruche, Destiny Arts, and Afro Urban Society find her embarking on her photographic essay series featuring African women navigating complexities of emotional expression.
FESTIVAL SUMMARY
The 2025 World Arts West Dance Festival focuses on the theme “Dance as Health and Healing,” exploring what constitutes a healthy community. It aims to showcase dance and art forms rooted in cultural traditions, including sacred, social, and contemporary. The festival will feature movement workshops, artist dialogues, and new activities like Hawaiian lei making, Kalimba music and Afro-Cuban healing rituals. Additionally, community activations will occur across the San Francisco Bay Area, emphasizing the theme of health and healing through dance. Make sure you join the mailing list and follow on Instagram for all the latest updates at www. WorldArtsWest.org!