LSB dance club makes Botswana proud
Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Friday March 22, 2019 13:18
The two ballroom dance couples of David Motlhodi, who partnered with Kesego Lopang and Gilbert Mosweu, who partnered with Gorata Kenyaditswe seemed to have found Aladdin’s Cave in Russia where they garnered a couple of both gold and silver medals and trophies.
They were competing against 19 countries. Despite being debutants at the international dance spectacle, the team was able to outshine other ballroom dancers. When addressing the media at Sir Seretse Khama Airport on Tuesday, Motlhodi expressed great excitement for their achievement. He said they represented the country very well, as all the two couples made it to the finals.
Motlhodi and Lopang scooped the third position while Mosweu and Kenyaditswe came fifth.
“When we got there, it was very cold and we were shaking. We arrived on Thursday so we had Friday to get used to the condition and feel the floor. Our first performance was on Saturday. We did well. It was a four-dance section in one sequence. We made it through six rounds before the quarter-finals then the finals,” he said.
He, however, explained that the competition was very tough, but they held on. Even though they did not have supporters to cheer them on, the crew did not let that come before their dream to win the competition.
Motlhodi said they managed to pull the international crowd to cheer for them through their splendid performances.
On Sunday, LSB team got back to the floor bubbling with full confidence. Motlhodi said they performed in five categories where each was adjudicated separately. He said they won all the categories. Motlhodi and his partner won four, which are the samba, chacha, jive and rumba.
Together with Lopang, they scooped four gold medals when Mosweu and his partner won four silver medals and one gold.
When Motlhodi and his partner got first position, Mosweu scooped the second position and where Mosweu and Kenyaditswe scooped the first position Motlhodi and Lopang got second. The crew brought home 10 medals making Botswana the overall winner of the competition.
They said having the national anthem sung on the big screen in Russia before 1,789 people was a priceless moment for them. They took more pride in beating the host in their own country.
However, they explained that their victory could have not been possible without the support of their friends, family and more especially the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Cultural Development.
“I would really like to say thank you very much to our minister, Tshekedi Khama. He was supporting us, checking us all through out.
He was checking if we were okay and if we needed any help and through that we managed to fly to and from Moscow and Botswana,” Motlhodi said.
She added that they will be taking part at the South African Championship on April 27, 2019 in SA and will also be competing in the World Championship in Chad November this year where they are allowed to bring six couples after winning the Russian Championship.
He added that they would also be hosting the Independent Cup competitions in September where they hope the event will be bigger than the previous years.