A number of dance groups, mainly hailing from Bulawayo, stormed the scene and had multitudes of followers across the country. Although there were many talented groups that included, Girls La Musica and Exotic Dancers, Mambokadzi was the most popular outfit for the better part of that period.
Founded by actress, dancer and choreographer Enisia Mashusha (formerly with Amavithikazi), Mambokadzi changed the face of the local dance scene in many ways.
Mambokadzi toured locally and regionally and made Mashusha a household name. However, with the fall of dance group popularity and rise of pole dancers, Mambokadzi folded in 2010.
Because of her passion for challenging tasks, Mashusha has taken the Mambokadzi brand into a completely different field, construction.
“I ventured into construction because I enjoy tackling challenging tasks. I teamed up with people with experience in the construction industry to form the new company,” said Mashusha.
“We have been busy since the company was formed and I am gaining experience in this new exciting field. At the moment we are doing light jobs. We are working on driveways, roof and floor tiles as well as precast walls. We also do painting, which I have mastered well.
“When I started Mambokadzi dance group, there were very few female dancers making it on big stages like we did. We inspired many other young women to take up dancing and within two years, there were various groups across the country taking after us.
“In the same way, I realised that there are few women in the construction business and decided to venture into this field. I know many other women will be inspired to pursue this challenging task if Mambokadzi Construction Company does well.”
“I fell in love with arts before anything else that I do now. I participated in various arts disciplines when I was at school before enrolling at Amakhosi Theatre for professional training.”
During her days at Amakhosi, Mashusha participated in a number of national productions. She majored in dance and theatre and toured regionally.
She has also done a number of film productions that include an outstanding role in a movie titled Sores of Emmanuel.
She has featured in a number of plays at Theatre in the Park and Harare International Festival of the Arts.
In 2009 Mashusha formed a band that released an album titled Ndotamba. However, the album was poorly marketed and the band did not do any live shows. Mashusha says she will soon revive the band.
One choice is to create this jaw-dropping penthouse in downtown Birmingham with nearly any embellishment you can conceive from fantasy painting on a ceiling, to a powder room of solid onyx, to arches, coves and 18-inch crown moldings, all built on site by hand.
This interior took 3 1/2 years and cost $3.5 million, says the developer, Casey Askar. That does not count the cost of the building, a new five-story condo building on a corner in downtown Birmingham.
"When you're dealing with artists, nothing is on time," Askar says. "Everything takes twice as long and costs twice as much."
Throughout the rooms, pillars, arches and deep crown molding were all crafted on site. Three fireplaces are all deeply carved stone. The large media room is all hand-crafted mahogany, not only the walls but the ceiling.
Walls of the powder room are lined with full slabs of onyx, as opposed to onyx tiles, Askar says. "It had been sitting on the bottom of the ocean for centuries." The mirror was built from Venetian glass.
The master bathroom is a Roman extravaganza -- arches and coves, a shower and steam room for two, a Roman tub in the center, walls again of onyx, this time as tiles.
The kitchen is 29-by-19 feet with Wolf, Sub-Zero and Bosch appliances, elaborate Italian cabinetry, a built-in espresso machine, and a full-sized wine storage area that holds different temperatures for reds and whites.
The house has between 64 and 68 sconces or chandeliers, Askar says. He's no longer sure of the count.
All floors are marble slabs, and Askar notes that the marble workers installed them with no visible lines of grout. Heat to the unit is radiated through these floors.
Built between 2000 and 2004, 180 Pierce is a five-story building with commercial space on the ground floor and four condos stacked above. Heated parking is underground with a private elevator to the residential floors.
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