22 Feb 2017

Constituency arts and culture competitions in Palapye have grown in leaps and and bounds.

The competitions are an initiative that was formed for the youth of this country to discover and unearth their talents for them to make a living out of those talents.

Senior programmes officer in the youth ministry Tootini Mogopa said in an interview that the competitions had shown a lot of improvement and growth since their inception, particularly the guitarists and poets.

However she said poets often dressed in tattered clothes, adding that they should dress presentably during recital of their poems.

She further said this initiative was not about money hence the youth should not do a shoddy job with the expectation to pocket some money.

Mogopa said for contestants to perform well at these kind of competitions, they should follow the rules and guidelines of the competition. “Each and every one who got to this stage of competitions from ward competitions should take their skills and talents very seriously because it can earn them a lucrative offer to perform,” she said.

She said youth should not take such competitions as just entertainment but a start to good life because most of the actors and performers who are successful today started from the same level.

“Leaders of some groups misuse the prize money on things that do not benefit the growth of the arts, money should be used on buying attire and equipment which will enhance their performance to perform nationally and internationally.”

However she warned against the use of students on this kind of competitions, adding that it is prohibited.

She further said any group that will be found using a student will be automatically disqualified from the competition.

The principal adjudicator of the competition David Mantsi said the judging system has also been improved.

However he said some performers have a tendency of using the same style year in year out particularly “setinkane” category.

He commended the guitarists for their good performance saying that it was impressive and outstanding.

The guitarist Michael Monang was named the best guitarist while Gosego Letsatsi scooped the best poet in the competition.

Under dikhwaere, Dipilara Choir scooped first position while Phalana tsa Lekgarapa traditional dance group on the other hand also scooped first position. BOPA