Polka reaches mainstream

Eleven polka troupes from Gantsi and Kgalagadi Districts participated in the inaugural Kalahari Polka Festival in Tsabong that was graced by among others President Ian Khama. PIC: THALEFANG CHARLES
Eleven polka troupes from Gantsi and Kgalagadi Districts participated in the inaugural Kalahari Polka Festival in Tsabong that was graced by among others President Ian Khama. PIC: THALEFANG CHARLES

’You are new to Polka. Polka is not new’. This is the message from the people of south west Kgalagadi to Batswana who think polka is the new craze in town.

“We have been dancing Polka for all the years,” says Margaret Bock from Streizendam, near Bokspits on the southwestern tip of Botswana in the Kgalagadi District.

Bock attests: “This is our culture. Our traditional dance. Every fun occasion; weddings, parties and family get-togethers we dance polka.  The elders and children dance to it.”

Editor's Comment
Human rights are sacred

It highlights the need to protect rights such as access to clean water, education, healthcare and freedom of expression.President Duma Boko, rightly honours past interventions from securing a dignified burial for Gaoberekwe Pitseng in the CKGR to promoting linguistic inclusion. Yet, they also expose a critical truth, that a nation cannot sustainably protect its people through ad hoc acts of compassion alone.It is time for both government and the...

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