Meet the brains behind Mophato Dance Theatre

GOTHATAONE MOENG
Staff Writer | Friday April 8, 2011 00:00

 

Mophato Dance Theatre scooped top prize in the My African Dream (MAD) Battle of the Finalists. Dancing from the time he was at Diphetogo Primary School, which was well-known throughout the '90s for winning the traditional dance competitions, Kola was reluctant to join the school dance troupe because he did not like the smell of the leather dance costume. It took the persuasion of one of his sisters, and the forceful hand of his then teacher, and dance troupe coach Jesus Mosokwe, founder of reggae outfit Stepping Razor, to lure him.

'Andrew was one of the best dancers at the school.  What I did was try to instill in him that the arts could contribute to his future,' Mosokwe reminisces.

After joining the troupe, Kola says he enjoyed performing in front of an audience and developed a great love for traditional dancing that saw him dancing throughout his school career at Maikano CJSS and Naledi SSS in Gaborone.  In 2001, while still a student at Naledi SSS, he was encouraged to join Mogwana Dance Troupe, then one of the biggest and most successful dance groups in Botswana.

'If you were part of Mogwana, everyone knew gore o blinde,' Kola says.  But it was not just the satisfaction of being regarded as a great dancer that being a Mogwana member thrilled him.  It was as part of the dance troupe that Kola says he first boarded an aeroplane.  The widely travelled dance troupe took him to expos and international festivals in countries like South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Ivory Coast, Canada and Japan. 'To me, dance is still something that can be used to sell Botswana.  Everywhere we went, our dancing was new to most people.  It was something different that they had never seen before,' he says. Kola was introduced to the contemporary dancing that has become the staple of his current dance group while he was still with Mogwana. 

Soon after, through the Maitisong Office and Prohvelvtia, the Swiss Arts Council, Kola was able to secure a scholarship for a three-month residency training  programme with South African dance company, Moving Into Dance.

'It's not a group, it's a company.  They are full-time professional dancers,' Kola says of the outfit that specialises in contemporary and afro-fusion.  Other than being companies, Kola says the main differences between dance in Botswana and South Africa are that it is taken more seriously in South Africa, with the country having several dance institutions.

'Ne ke bolawa ke technique,' Kola says of his few weeks in Johannesburg.  'The other dances were qualified, they had the techniques, and were able to get moves quickly.  But they could see that I had potential.'  Kola revealed that the group invited him to train with them for a year in order to join their company, but he was hindered by a lack of funds.

After his legal period of stay in South Africa lapsed, Kola returned to Gaborone, his mind full of plans to return back to South Africa to dance professionally.

'Then it occurred to me that I could just start a group here.  If I wanted to perform contemporary dance, then maybe it was something that I could start and establish here,' he says.  In 2009, the now 13-member Mophato Dance Theatre started with just four dancers.  In just over two years the group has grown exponentially, and has the credentials to show it.  In Botswana, they have been a staple in corporate performances, having done all the big events such as Miss Botswana.  Recently they supported jazz songbird Shanti Lo on the launch of his latest album.

Internationally they have performed at the Shanghai Expo in China, in Namibia with Jamming in Christ and collaborated with Jeremy Haven on GoalMouth! - a production that was meant to promote the 2010 World Cup in England.  Most recently, they were the winner of the MAD Battle of the Finalists.

Will all of their success give a breath of new life into dance in Botswana?

'The sad thing about performing arts in Botswana is that it's like a trend.  It becomes popular, and then quickly disappears.  I don't want that for Mophato, I want us to be able to sustain the group.  We will still be in the industry in the next 10 years,' he says.

As a Motswana youngster, Kola admits that there have been challenges from his parents, who did not take his dancing seriously.  He says they are supportive now because they have seen the results of his determination.  His younger sister, Onneile Kola, still remembers one incident that illustrates Kola's determination to be successful.

'Andrew was not the cleverest student at school.  My mum had given up on him.  She once told him that he was going to fail.  He said to her, 'one day you will see, I will be working and I will be able to look after you'.   My mum also recollects this whenever we see him dancing,' she said.

Kola is also a qualified make-up artist, who works with Bontle le Botsogo.  It is a job that he says is not too far from dancing, he applies make-up on performers, Botswana Television (Btv) presenters as well as Mophato dancers for their performances.