“AS WOMEN, GOD BLESSED US WITH
MANY ABILITIES AND
MULTI-TASKING IS ONE OF THEM.”
S
he is a dancer, a model, a television presenter and a university student. She is also an
actress. No doubt, Bathabile
Dlamini is a woman of many talents.
At just 23 years, she is one the few
young artistes to win the prestigious
National Arts Merit Award (NAMA).
The charismatic actress scooped
the Outstanding Actress gong for
her role as Zinkabi in the theatrical
production Umbiko KaMadlenya
directed by Nelson Mapako. The
play, which was showcased during
the last year’s Intwasa Arts Festival
KoBulawayo, scooped four NAMAs
.
Batha, as popularly known by her
friends, is a second year journalism
and media studies student at the
National University of Science and
Technology (NUST). She still cannot
hide her joy for clinching the award.
“It’s quite an honour to win the award
and to be recognised as an artiste.
This award is just a stepping stone towards greater things and it motivates
me to even work extra hard to achieve
my dreams,” smiled the 23 year old..
Her journey in acting began in 2009
while still a student at Eveline High
school. She auditioned as a dancer
for the school drama club. Her talent was discovered by her director,
Thabani Hillary Moyo who assigned
her an acting role. Since then, she
has not looked back and she now
looks forward to rehearsals at the
JULY 2015. CM. Page 26
Centre for Talent Development
(CTD) every Saturday at Eveline.
“I was on stage for the first time in
2010 and that very year, I won an
award for Best Supporting Actress in
the Plan Intwasa High Schools Drama
Competitions. This made me realise
that I had more to offer than dancing and I started taking acting serious,” Bathabile recollects with glee.
“It’s quite an
honour to win
the award and
be recognised
as an
artiste”