Cheers Cintsa!

For my finale of the Cintsa chapter in my life, I attended the Bulugha Farm School concert for the last time - well, hopefully not the last time.  Bulugha is another school about ten minutes from Cintsa School.  Every Thursday, the children perform for anyone who so desires to watch.  Towards the end, they send around a box for the intention of donations to the school.
Richard, a lively black South African drummer, is faithful to the children and attends this concert every Thursday along with his drum.

Billy Elliot

Once everyone has been seated in the classroom that had transformed into an auditorium, the children dressed in their maroon uniforms begin.  The voices create an orchestra of rhythmic sounds sans any actual musical instrument...except for when Richard makes his appearance.  They sway together in close quarters, clapping hands and stomping feet all with perfect timing.  I sit in the audience, bouncing one of the children on my lap to the beat, soaking in all the magical notes the voices hit.  There is one student, nick named Billy Elliot by another volunteer and me for the sole reason that boy he can dance.  A couple songs later, Richard prances directly in front of the target of all the eyes in the audience and sets his drum down gently between his knees.  He begins slowly, steady, then breaks out into beats of whatever life force is driving him now.  The power the drum has over him is contagious and begins to leak out through the audience.  Everyone is smiling and dancing in their seats.  Some children hop up on old wooden desks and shake what they got.  The music stops and Richard calls up Billy Elliot to the front.  A little boy dressed in jeans and a white wife-beater lights up and jumps up beside Richard.  The drumming makes its way into the atmosphere once again and Billy begins to move.  His eyes so wide I was scared they were going to pop out.  His smile so massive, you could count the number of teeth he had.  To say the least, he was enjoying himself.
Next, two school girls get up and show everyone their fly moves.  Richard halts in his drumming and looks over at me, gesturing for me to get up there next to the girls.  "You're not getting away that easy," he says.  You can't say no to that.  He told me to copy everything the girls did.  The drumming starts along with some mild booty shaking, then some hand gestures and dancing feet.  I was enjoying myself thoroughly.  What a wonderful way to finish off my stay in Cintsa.

Some more photos from Cintsa...

Uzakhanye and Mivuyo on my last day at Cintsa School

Buccaneers