Letsatsi performs Mr Kgosi Dijeje again tomorrow
Spira Tlhankane | Friday May 13, 2016 14:18
In an interview with Arts and Culture, Letsatsi Dance Theatre spokesperson, Bontle Mogwera said they wanted to base the comedy on a theme around Botswana 50th celebrations. “It’s an old story based on the arrival of white people in Botswana and their relations with Batswana, Dikgosi.
It covers issues of culture clash and power,” she said. Mogwera said the plot centres around the time when the white traders from Europe came to Botswana to sell their goods. At the time the intermediary between the white traders and Batswana was a headman to ensure fair trade. But the headman Kgosi Dijeje was using his powers to cheat Batswana and take advantage of the whites. In the end he was overthrown and Batswana gained independence.
Mogwera said the play has managed to amuse people so far in the recent show held at Maitisong. “If more people come to our next show, may be we can host more shows in the nearby future,” she said. Mogwera added they have core dancers of 60 people and hired a band and a group of singers to spice up the play.
Looking back, Letsatsi Dance Theatre was a project of the French Club in the Department of French at the University of Botswana in 2002. Four motivated and dedicated students took the project further, detaching themselves from the University and creating the Letsatsi Dance Theatre of Botswana, a non-profit organisation.
After two years of dedication to an intensive programme in dance techniques and theatrical rehearsals, the group presented its first public performance in 2004.
The organisation focuses on so-called ethnic forms of contemporary dance and theatre, following the dance techniques of Katherin Dunham, African American choreographer and anthropologist. The core of the group consists of four actor-dancers and 21 associate members. The director-cum-choreographer is Jean-Raoul Austin de Douillard. The group was established to promote cultural events in the country and provide a new genre of entertainment.