22 Oct 2015

For the first time at Maitisong, Mophato Dance Theatre will showcase its new production of Sharing Botswana Untold Stories through contemporary dance and it will be a triple bill show that is expected to change the landscape of performing arts.

Speaking at a press brief, founder of Mophato Dance Theatre Andrew Kola indicated that the group was founded in 2009 and it was meant to showcase contemporary dance in Botswana in an effort to develop Batswana’s dance talent as a way of assisting people to utilise their talents and earn a living.

“We have worked with a lot of people especially the youth and some have moved on to better things and we have travelled the world,” he said.

He said the triple bill production is expected to thrill the nation with three stories aimed at establishing contemporary dance as a form of influence that could transform culture through the knowledge and consciousness it produces, in a dialectic process.

“The three stories which will be showcased are Wosana, Inyaya and Kulema,” he said, adding that the production aims at enlightening the youth through untold stories as a way of assisting to mould their reality and help them aspire to be different.

Speaking on the three productions, Kola said Inyaya is a story about Segametsi Mogomotsi, a little girl who was killed in Mochudi in what was suspected to be a ritual killing and the riots that ensured in the greater Gaborone and surrounding villages.

“Kulema will tell the story of challenging issues that young people encounter and as we rapidly approach 2016. It is important that we remember the national vision that teaches us to acknowledge Botswana’s untold stories,” he said.

On the third production, Kola said Wosana is a story about the rain dance and how it is performed in Botswana and it will focus on how Bakalaka do it.

“And the production will also shed light into Botswana’s drought that is being experienced,” he said.

For her part, chief communications and public relations officer at Mascom Wireless Tebogo Lebotse-Sebego said she believes that performing arts could be used as a way to change lives.

 

“Preserving culture through the arts remains a key aspect of Mascom’s social agenda and it is our obligation to keep safe the culture and heritage Botswana is known for,” she said. Ends