Chelenje Chengwao ensemble to tour USA

SHINGIRAI MADONDO
Correspondent | Thursday March 15, 2012 00:00

 

The tour, which forms part of a cultural exchange programme, comes barely six months after the troupe thrilled audiences in India for almost a month at the annual Dasora Cultural Festival.

The eight-member act's repertoire includes hosanna (the rain dance), sangoma (traditional doctor's dance), Ndazula (celebration dance) and Matjomane. Chelenje Chengwao, loosely translated to followers of culture, uses traditional song and dance to preserve the Kalanga culture and promote cultural tourism in the north east region.

The group's spokesperson, 34-year-old Ngwisawa Ntogwa who is also the founder, director and artistic co-coordinator of the ensemble, said they have set out to promote Botswana's cultural tourism and the importance of following culture.

'Our act shows how breathtaking Botswana culture is. After a successful tour of India, we are very delighted to have been invited to take our act to the USA. We want to sell Botswana's cultural tourism to the rest of the world,' said Ntogwa. He said Stanley Mathews of Humboldt University in California was thrilled with their performance at the Dasora festival where the group left an audience of over five million people clamouring for more.

He said that his group will perform at the cultural exchange festival before embarking on income generating shows, that Mathews will organise for them.

'The invitation promises to be a fortune for us. And we are doing everything within our power to raise money for transport. We are expected to raise P120,000 for our eight-member group to travel to the USA,' he said.

The towering traditional dancer from the border village of Ramokgwebana said they are currently trying to aggressively sell their album, Kamanyangwa, in order to raise money for the flight.

'We only need money for the flight. Our stay and internal transportation within California is going to be taken care of by Mathews and his associates. It is our appeal to well-wishers across the country to help us with funds to realise our dream,' he appealed.

According to an invitation letter from Mathews, the group will have the potential of learning from other cultures and sell Botswana culture to the rest of the world since renowned media organisations such as Cable News Network (CNN) are expected to cover the festival.