Arts Reporter

JIBILIKA Dance Trust will this weekend host the second Step Up to HIV dance festival at Morgan High School in Arcadia, Harare, to celebrate World AIDS Day.
The event is set to bring together over 20 schools that have been part of the campaign showcasing their response to HIV and AIDS through dance, poetry, music, theatre and art. 
December is pegged as the HIV and AIDS month in the world and Zimbabwe which has seen a sharp decline in new HIV infections and death related cases will join the commemorations.
Jibilika founder and director, Plot Mhako, said the project engages young people in promoting an HIV and AIDS free generation.
“The project uses popular youth culture as a medium to ‘step up’ the fight against HIV and AIDS,” said Mhako.
“The initiative aims to furnish young people with the necessary skills, knowledge and tools that enable them to live positively, become HIV and AIDS activists and peer educators in their homes, schools, and communities.”
The role of art has always been less to entertain and more to do with reflecting the society from which the artistes themselves are coming from.
The dance groups that are set to compete and converge this Saturday will be expected to use their different forms of art as a means for behaviour change and responsibility in regards to issues of sexuality.
The high schools expected to attend are mainly from the ghetto suburbs like Mbare, Kambuzuma, Glen View and Mufakose among others.
These schools have been producing some of the best hip hop dance groups and routines in the country.
Apart from the participating schools, the festival will also have performances from prevalent youth dance groups drawn from various communities who have also been mentored into the programme.
Step Up to HIV is a dance and music project that was launched in March this year by Jibilika Trust which is working in partnership with the American Embassy’s presidential HIV relief programme.
Since its inception, the Trust has been struggling to get sponsorship to kick off its local programmes.