Artists perform custodial roles for culture and traditions in several ways. Be it the poet whose words serve to amplify the voices of the populace to the Kgosi, the illustrator who etches tales of remarkable triumphs, or the dancer whose choreography encapsulates instructions for present and future healthcare practitioners, across many a tribe and nation, there have been artforms that elevate singular responsibility of memory to that of the collective. It is this very place of departure that Mophato Dance Theatre uses in their double-bill showcase featuring โBorwaโ and โInyayaโ, premiering at the Maitisong Theatre in Gaborone.
Since its founding in 2009, Mophato has made their unique selling point their dedication to elevating stories of Botswana in ways that resonate with her people, and global audiences. Far from profiteering or leaning on commonality, Andrew Letso Kolaโs mission as the Creative Director of the company continues to be guided by the recognition of the value dance has a storytelling medium, enabling it to communicate in ways that other forms may fall short โ as was applauded by Minister of Sports and Arts, Hon. Jacob Kelebeng, in his address at the opening night. Coming almost a year after their collaboratively choreographed production, โTeemane: Our Diamond Storyโ, Kola and Kalima Mipata bring a pair of short dance works that display their unique approaches to movement-based storytelling.
โBorwaโ tells a story primarily associated with South Africa โ that of the lives of mine labourers. The promise of the city of gold serves as a backdrop to Kolaโs exploration of how these labourers were often teenagers or young men whoโd be dislocated from their families and have to endure a transferred bogwera process. With bogwera being a crucial initiation rite for teaching boys that to be a man means more than attaining a certain age, but also bearing responsibilities to oneself and others, Borwa offers a peek into some of the gaps that emerge when it is handed over to mine foremen instead. Using phathisi vocabulary along with temporal and geographical culture locators like marabi, the audience is transported from Molepolole to โGoutengโ via the iconic railway.
Playing the elder whose responsibility it is to identify fitting candidates to fare against the dangers of the mines is Brando Keabilwe. While not a stranger to the stage, audiences will be pleasantly surprised to meet, or reconnect, with the theatrical side of this multi-hyphenate entertainer. As the narrative guide, Keabilweโs character also calls the audience to question the roles adopted, or abandoned, by elder men as archetypical patriarchal leads โ and what social ills can be born from the secrecy that bonds regiments of initiates. Unlike the uproar caused in 2017 by South African film, Inxeba (The Wound) for lifting a similar veil, Borwaโs light-heartedness in musicality and choreography have audiences tapping and clapping along, subverting how we grapple with this facet of history.
โInyayaโ also has a youth-centred message, yet it picks at a collective wound that the nation is still reeling from: ritual murders. To someone who isnโt familiar with this practice in Botswana, or has never heard of the case of the murder of Segametsi Mogomotsi, the student protesters set against flames will read as an exploration of teenage angst directed toward militaristic suppression. However, the deeply emotive story of a 14-year-old Radikolo Community Junior Secondary Schoolstudent disappeared in Radisele in 1994 continues to haunt the pyches of many in Botswana. To this end, Kalima Mipata took on a heart-centric storytellingapproach to centre the fear and anguish that arose.
Mipataโs choreography for Kese Ramsden is both emotionally and physically engaging as she portrays the tortured youngster. He leans on his contemporary training to give the student riotersโ unison passages deliberate punctuation to articulate how their collective goal is to have their peer found and returned safely. The interrogation scene with the accused murderer is a gymnastic feat, handled well by Star Hezรจk while still singing. Much as the two Scotland Yard detectives brought in to investigate the case left without answers for the nation, so too does Inyaya not offer a sanitised happy ending โ reminding many of the cloud that looms over what is popularly framed as a โpeace-loving nationโ.
Through their work with a dance corps of 20, and a live band of 8 musicians, Kola and Mipata have birthed another notable historical document through dance. The telling of a nationโs story is, however, a substantial load to bear โ financially and otherwise. With Mophato Dance Theatre slated to represent Botswana at the World Dance Festival in Cheonan, South Korea, it is incumbent upon everyone who acknowledges the importance of history and artistry to turn celebratory congratulations into tangible support. However, based on what the nationโs leading dance company has achieved through the years, it is indubitable that their ambitions are far from getting smaller. These cultural custodians will make sure that Botswana is known in many ways through dance.
