01 Apr 2014

Polka music is lively and fast paced. What makes it more appealing is the attitude carried through by the dancers and good beats. Men in semi-formal and women in flared skirts, twisting and turning around the room makes polka even more spectacular. Just as a smile is contagious so is polka music, so they say.

Some years back, many Batswana did not know a thing about polka music. But it was years later following the start of the President’s Day celebrations, that many started appreciating the music. 

It was introduced as one the categories of the competition. Today, the dance craze which has been made common in Kgalagadi areas is sweeping the nation by storm and there is no doubt that it is here to stay.

That being the case, Polka has consistently remained a very popular dance worldwide. It is said to have originated in what is now known as the Czech Republic (then known as Bohemia) and spread quickly into Prague and the rest of Eastern Europe in the early 1800’s. 

It quickly spread west to Paris and went quickly to ballrooms and theaters throughout all of Europe and even America in a wide variety of versions. The dance was first introduced into the ballrooms of Prague in 1835. The name of the dance (pulka) is Czech for “half-step”, referring to the rapid shift from one foot to the other while in Polish the word polka means a “polish woman.” 

The warm and friendly polka instructor and group leader for Struizendum-based group, Kgalagadi Polka Dancers, Mr Klein Matthys is a familiar face at Struizendum and afar places, thanks to the media coverage that his group has been getting since the poverty eradication workshop that was held in the village few years back.

Mr Matthys makes dancing polka comfortable from start to finish. Twisting and turning around the circle, making the audience clap their hands and stomp their feet, Mr Matthys makes dancing Polka easy and fun. Performed in pairs or couples, either in the face-to-face waltz position or while standing side by side, with the man’s arm around the woman’s waist and her hand on his shoulder, 

For those brave enough in the audience, they usually join in to dance to the music. One, Radio Botswana presenter, Kesaobaka Kooreng, a dancer of note once joined in the group while performing their piece during Chanoga’s poverty eradication workshop, only for him to be stopped in his tracks. So perhaps, it is true that Polka music is contagious. You cannot listen to it and not be swayed away by its beats and the beauty of the choreography. 

However, it was dancing with President that would remain one of his memorable moments. Mr Matthys said he was dancing solo as is always the case and was taken aback when President Lt General Seretse Khama Ian Khama joined him and danced during the Khawa Dune Challenge and cultural festival.

His group, he said performed after Khawa group and ‘then President took to the stage, faced me and then the dancing began.” 

For him, it was a sight to behold that would probably take time to erase. “Dancing with the President, how often do people get such as an opportunity,” he asked rhetorically.  

A rare opportunity indeed, he said. 

The President had not difficultly dancing Polka and I can take a week helping him to perfect his dancing skills,” he said. 

That’s the beauty of Polka, he would say. To him Polka, is more than music. It is more than that. It is a cultural dance that started way back with his fore fathers. “It is a celebratory type of music as it was danced to during weddings and festive season from dawn until sunrise.  Mr Matthys who is not only a dancer of note, but the brain child behind Kgalagadi Polka Dancers said there was a rich history behind the music. Starting the group in 2010, he said was meant to encourage the youth in their area that polka music was part of their culture.

“My intention was to create an entertaining, fun, and comfortable social atmosphere where anyone could meet,” he said.

He said they registered with the department of arts and culture in 2011 and it was the same year that the group performed during the President’s Day Competitions and beat other competitors in Polka music category to the pole position.

In 2012, the group took the fourth position while last year, they got the third position. 

 “The group has elevated polka music and now a number of people around the country are now generally appreciating it,” he said.

He said polka is reclaiming its rightful place in the music industry in the country.

But Mr Matthys cannot imagine life without polka. Not only has it helped to keep him and others in shape as it was a fun exercise, but it has blessed him and his group with opportunities that would not have been availed to them.

The group which has 17 members has been part of President’s Day competitions since 2010 and by the look of things, there is no stopping for the Kalahari Polka Dancers, as their aim is definitely to reach for greater heights.

Other notable events that they have participated in are the poverty eradication workshops in Struizendum which was their launching pad and Chanoga and Khawa Dune challenge and cultural festival. 

Already, he said there are times when they are overwhelmed with invitations as they get invited to places as far as Kanye and other areas.

Already, he said they have plans to take the music further but there are challenges standing on the way. 

“We need instruments and a laptop because we need to record our music since other groups are playing our compilations without our consent.”

Lack of transport is another stumbling block faced by the group as they have to travel to other areas to honour invitations. Though they raise funds here and there, he said it is not enough to sustain them.

Their intention is to incorporate youth in the group, saying he has advised the older ones to make way for the youth. Ends