Sixteen dancers are flowing through the room. Arms blossom up and float down, bodies spin to the sound of African hand drums and shakers. "And freeze. Now you come to realize that the dream is about to end," says the young man from Zimbabwe, who is choreographing the dance through a combination of imagery and classical African dance movements. Gestures evolve. Heads tilt, legs pedal, eyes open wide. "you're going back to sleep," he says. the dancers lie down of the wooden floor, spread out or curled up. "Now freeze. Imagine you're in a field. As you lie in this position, I'm going to walk around. As I touch you, you wake up in this place. Remember your voice and your face. I want to see it all - the feeling, not the action. The feeling. Voices groan and pant, legs stagger, faces contort in confusion. The air is filled with the pulsing beat of hand drums and flow of flutes. Bodies hug and link, holding hands. A shy damsel is brought into the huddle. Massed bodies sway, feeling each other's movements like herd animals, then fall into prayerful repose and tilted leaps. the music becomes happy with hand claps and chants, cowbells, shekere, marimba. The dancers leap, stalk like flamingos, galumph like gorillas, wriggle hips, kick up heels, flap arms reach for the skies.

Tawanda Chabikwa demonstrates, encourages, leads, follows, and laughs. His sweeping gestures and effortless movements are inspiring. Just a few years ago, back in Zimababwe, Mr.Chabikwa thought he was destined for a mid-level career in science. "In Zimbabwe, the arts are not well considered, " he says. "if you're an artist, it means you're not smart enough to be a doctor or a scientist..."

He has long been aware ofteh epidemic and eventually involved in AIDS assistance through his mother, who worked for non-governmental organizations to help AIDS victims and is now a consultant on HIV policies... ndini wako, he writes, is basically a philanthropic creative studio that provides creative services in returen for money that will be used to send HIV/AIDS orphans (infected and affected) to school in Zimbabwe. The idea is primarily to support the orphans through making use of the rich and dynamic artistic pool of Zimbabwean arts and culture. ndini wako will raise funds through performances, exhibitions and auctions etc."