By HELEN ZULU –

EMIRATES will be flying in some 16 performers from across the globe this week to share in the magic of the Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA).
Emirates Country Manager Paulos Legesse said renowned musicians, singers, dancers and other artistes would be travelling from across the globe with Emirates for the six-day extravaganza running from April 29 to May 4 2014.
“Connecting people is what Emirates does best, and what better way to do that that share in the passions and energy of the Harare
International Festival of the Arts?” he said.
This year’s festival, themed “Switch On”, is the 15th annual festival and workshop programme, showcasing the best of local, regional and international arts and culture covering theatre, dance, music, circus, street performance, fashion, spoken word and visual arts.
It is now the largest cultural event in Zimbabwe and among the eight major festivals in Africa.
“The programme this year is amazing in so many ways – diverse, innovative, prestigious and adventurous. It demonstrates the broad
range of our audiences’ artistic interests, and the dynamic cultural diversity of our community.
A warm welcome and congratulations to all artists participating in HIFA 2014,” HIFA founder and artistic director Manuel Bagorro in this year’s festival programme said.
In addition to the many local acts, international highlights of the festival include the CABS Opera, led by US pianist, conductor and musical director, Jerry Steichen; Ivory Coast singer, dancer and percussionist Dobet Gnahoré; the Zimboita Zimbabwean-Italian virtuoso drumming duo and among others.
Others are the Chef’ Special five-piece band from the Netherlands; guitarists Andrea Valeri from Italy, Will McNicol from Scotland, and
Maneli Jamal, who was in Belarus of Iranian descent and has taken the Canadian finger-style world by storm; Irish folk group Dervish; New York trio Remix Culture; the Kunzwana #1 an Austria-Zimbabwe group; Maria João and Mário Laginha from Portugal; South African supergroup Freshly Ground; Acada Canto from Spain; American mezzo-soprano Krysty Swann; US pianist Stephen Prutsman.