African Meander Scar production AfrikaRiz (pronounced ‘Africa Rise’) is more than just a Youth Choir coming out of Pimville Township in Soweto. In the light of being raised and living in a community that lacks visible role models, an environment where young people are desperate for engag ing & stimulating resources, 21 year old Musician & Vocal Arranger, Mpendulo Sipho Mhlanga, founded AfrikaRiz with a vision to establish a project that would develop young and responsible Leaders, empowering them with Life-Skills through the use of the Performing Arts.
Since its official founding in 2016, the Ensemble has grown to become a compelling movement that many young people in Soweto desire to be a part of. AfrikaRiz is now a 30 Member group (ages: 17 to 25) that offers entertaining yet informative Performances through Music, Dance, Drama & Poetry. Their repertoire includes new musical arrangements of South Afri can and African classics.
Choreographed Dances are an integral part of these performances, all dressed up in colour ful and imaginative Costumes. All this is pieced together through good story-telling that cele brates our African & South African Heritage. Starting in Soweto where they live, AfrikaRiz have a strong desire to reach audiences in other Cities & Provinces and eventually taking the South African story onto international stages.
In their short time of existence, AfrikaRiz have already had the privilege of being invited to perform on a number of professional projects that included collaborations with established Artists such as Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Loyiso Bala, Zolani Mahola (Freshlyground), Karen Zoid, Monde Msutwana, Papaya (from Denmark), Mortimer Williams and many others. Some of the highlights were appearances at prestigious Events that include: Lilizela Tourism Awards, Starlight Classics, KykNet’s FIESTAS Awards, Eyethu Music Project. Apart from performing as a full Cast, Afrika Riz can also provide different formats and sizes of the Choir for specifi cally tailor-made projects and collaborations. Workshops Collective development with other Choirs is an important aspect that this Group engages on. From time to time they host Work shops with other Artistic groups, including international Choirs that visit South Africa.
OUR VISION
Our Vision is to see the existing talent in our Townships being developed and opening limitless opportunities for our Youth, Creating a platform where young people’s dreams can be culti vated and realized, Being instrumental in creating community spaces and societies that are vibrant, resourceful and lifegiving, telling the South African story of resilience and hope a cross the globe , and by so doing, restoring the respect and the dignity of our people that was eroded by our dark history.
OUR MISSION
We strive to offer a very high standard of professional presentations that will effectively tell our stories in a captivating & a life changing manner and work very hard to make AfrikaRiz a movement that becomes a catalyst for upliftment in our Communities creating a Performance product that will do more than just entertain but make a lasting impact in the lives of our audi ences. Our mission also includes preservation of our African Heritage even as we take it into the future. AfrikaRiz is a ‘symbol’ of youth self expression. We want to become a Voice’ of i nuence to every one that we have the privilege of standing in front of , particularly the Youth
AFRIKARIZ