Get yourself somebody to swing with you
Thalefang Charles | Friday March 6, 2015 14:15
In the song, Brenda’s velvety voice urges: “Get yourself somebody to swing with you…Don’t be shy…Everybody is dancing…The feeling is so nice…I’m feeling so good…It’s nice to be with people.”
Brenda’s song may have a different beat from polka music, but her lyrics sum up the feeling of getting lost in a sweaty troupe of polka dancers.
Initially, even President Ian Khama – who has been rightly credited for promoting polka music - was ‘shy’ to get somebody to swing with him. In the beginning he used to dance alone. He used to sneak onto the dance floor and swing with an imaginary partner in a circle of his armed bodyguards, blocking photographers and interested girls who wanted to grab the President’s waist and get down with him.
But that is history.
Khama is no longer shy.
Last week, he flew all the way to Tsabong accompanying his friend and minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Thapelo Olopeng, who was officiating at the inaugural Kalahari Polka Festival at Tsabong Ecotourism Camel Park.
The president travelled there as a spectator but his presence got everyone excited.
Even the Tsabong police acted like punctual schoolboy prefects as they laid down the law. They set up roadblocks armed with the dreaded “booze Bus” to nab motorists failing to toe the line.
Instead of letting the Tsabong community freely enjoy alcohol while watching their favourite cultural spectacle, the police restricted any drop of alcohol from entering the Tsabong Camel Park where the event was hosted.
Some disappointed festival-goers turned back at the gate, saying they would not be able to withstand the searing Kgalagadi heat, without the help of their favourite “beverage of a mildly intoxicating nature.”
Disappointments aside, the event kicked off after Khama made his grand entrance at the Camel Park. After brief speeches it was time to raise the dust as colourful troupes of dancers paraded on the dance floor. The spectators loved the dances and at about 8pm, under the floodlights, President Khama snuck onto the dance floor.
He did his usual routine, dancing like a loner at couple’s night.
This time around, however, one brave girl from Gantsi, Thalefo van der Westhuizen, did not allow her president to feel like a black sheep, as she jumped from the stands where she was sitting to grab Khama and swing with him.
She ran so fast that by the time the presidential bodyguards reacted, she was already holding the President, swinging her bulbous red dress and smiling from ear to ear as they stepped to the polka beat.
After the “presidential polka” the crowd took over the dance floor in a dusty haze. One can only imagine what would have happened had organisers allowed the happy imbibers inside Camel Park.
The following day after the president and his entourage checked out from Tsabong Camel Park where they lodged inside the luxurious Meru Tents, the media took a guided tour of the Park facilities.
The Park has transformed from vast empty land populated by a few skinny camels donated by Libya’s slain leader, Colonel Gaddafi, to a luxurious park with perfect facilities including fully equipped campsites and six luxury meru tents.
There are over 350 camels at the park and the most popular activity is the camel ride. I had the chance to ride a camel called ‘Skepe,’ the famous winner of the inaugural Khawa camel race held during the first Khawa Dune Challenge.
Being my first camel ride, I felt awkward riding on top of that animal. The adventure starts when the camel rises to its feet, as you have to remember the camel handler’s instructions that you must lean back to avoid falling down.
On its feet one gets to realise the extent of the height of this industrious desert transporter. The fun begins when the camel begins to move. You feel the movements on your waist, back and forth, as if you are performing some sexy dance in the privacy of your bathroom.
When it was time to get off, the camel handler spoke with Skepe, saying, “clutch, clutch” ordering him to sit. But Skepe was not interested and it took two handlers to order the tall animal down.
I think the former prize winner enjoyed transporting me, especially with the selfies I kept shooting selfies while on top!