Folk Choirs Battle It Out
Lovers of folk choirs were treated to music galore at Mochudi Showgrounds last Sunday. The competition organised by Ngwao Loshalaba Association, under the theme: Pina Le Mmino Ke Bokamoso drew choirs from different parts of the country like Kgatleng, Kweneng, Kgalagadi, Gantsi and Central.
Participating choirs in the event included KRT, Sedibelo, Potlako, Tloutsoga, Thagale Malotwane, LCC Moremogolo, Young Dangerous Choir, Makomoto, Sekepe, DM Morulaesi, International, Rangers, Mopipi Wa Majanko, Dikhutsana Tsa Dutela and Gapanyana London Choir.
KRT dressed in black opened the event and the last performers were the very promising Gapanyana London Choir (GLC).
Although GLC did not win any of the top three positions, they were a cut above the rest when it came to dancing. The choir’s dancing routines were simply amazing and they earned themselves the loudest applause. Going against tradition, the women in GLC chose to wear traditional-dance gear made out of animal hides.
From the onset, the clear favourites were Rangers, Sekepe and Young Dangerous Choir (YDC). Of the three favourites, Young Dangerous Choir from Kang were the first to perform. YDC set a hot pace with their good singing and breathtaking dancing skills. The choir, clad in bright Botswana flag colours, sang Re logile segwenegwene and Goromente o batla chaba e e nang le kitso.
Dressed in brown and khaki, Rangers, which was tipped to be the overall winner, sang Chaba Ya Botswana. As the choir from Kgatleng performed, some revellers commented that they were the best in the competition.
Sekepe, otherwise known as SK, were the last of the favourite three to perform. Clad in charcoal clothes, the group sang Re bina khoba and Re ja koma. Although the group was one of the ‘darlings’ at the event, its performance was not the best.
However, the final decision lay with the judges, who pointed out that some of the things that they had been looking for were voice projection, melody, balance of voices, rhythm, dance routines, message contained in songs and the dress code.
As the revellers predicted, the three excelled with Sekepe winning the top prize followed by Rangers and YDC respectively. Sekepe walked away with P 8, 000, Rangers P 6, 000 and YDC P 4, 000. All participating choirs were given P 1, 500 as a token of appreciation. Other categories included the Best Male Voice that went to Emmanuel Powe of DM Morualaesi. Boitshoko Morobe of Sedibelo won herself the Best Female Voice, while Dineo Rabotlhoka of Sekepe walked away with the Best Composer/Song prize. Certificates of appreciation were given to individuals who have been in the forefront of each choir.
The major sponsor of the event was the Department of Culture, Ministry of Youth, Sport and Culture.
Via Mmegi
