Budding artist urges colleagues to make use of social media

Owen Machukera, an upcoming artist based in Marondera has implored other budding artists not to
give up and cry over less marketing opportunities available to them, saying instead they should make
use of other available channels like internet and social media.
In an interview with this publication, Owen said that the world is now like a global village brought
together by the internet and artists should capitalise on such cheap and fast ways of penetrating the
market.
He observed that while rising artists’ wings get clipped before blossoming, Owen, also known in the
music circles as Tuecuz says he uses the feedback he gets on social media to perfect his dance moves
and strategies.
He said, " You cannot improve if you always receive positive feedback, but it is negative feedback
that drives you to another level
However, some of the criticism on social media is counterproductive and dampens the spirit and
morale of artists.
Tuecuz says artists should have a better mindset to accept that they cannot please everyone and
toxic comments should be ignored.
Notably, training space is one of the barriers between uprising dancers and success.
The dance studios as noted by Tuecuz are expensive as they range from US$200 to US$300 per
month.
Another obstacle is on rehearsing studios, which are also unaffordable. While these rehearsals are
supposed to be held daily, artist end up practicing three days a week from 2pm and 5pm due to high
costs.
He also bemoaned poor remuneration of artists as they are looked down upon by stakeholders.
Owen says he taught himself some dancing skills when he was in Form Two at Chinaa High School in
Chipinge, adding that he was inspired by Tamba Tione and World of Dance.
Proud Choreography and Amazing Prince also played a big part in inspiring him resulting in the
formation of his own dancing group, Silent Hunters in 2019 when he would voluntarily teach
youngsters how to dance.
The group has been hired by local musicians such as Emmanuel Manyati and T.J for music videos.
He also choreographs Zaoga church dances where he perfects his skills and wedding routines which
also aids in putting his name on the map.