Moshupa Performance!!!

Yesterday was the last day of master classes and we were treated with a special performance from members of the Moshupa village in the Southern District of Botswana. Although, this group of 25, members of three separate theater troupes, had been coming everyday and participating in the poetry and scene study classes, I was unaware of the type of performance that the members did with their distinct theater groups, so it was great to see them dancing, performing acting scenes and singing in both English and Setswana.

The first group which numbered about 15, sang traditional songs in Setswana and gave us a gospel and "love" song in English. I would have to say that the "love" song was the crowd favorite, because about half way through the baritone of the group added a heavy bassline and got everybody up doing dance moves. We followed his lead in about 5 different moves first incorporating only our legs and slowly bringing our entire bodies into the equation. By the end of the song the entire class was running around dancing and singing, " I want to touch you/I want to hold you/to be with you one day in paradise."

The second group, which was an all male group of five, delivered a lively acting scene in Setswana dealing with the lives of men selling clothes, bags, and anything else you needed. Essentially they were telling the story of young Batswana men hustling to survive. When spoken fast and with the right inflections Setswana has a great melody, so although I could not understand the words they were saying, the rhythm and body language of the performers told me all I needed to know; If you were looking for something to buy, they could give you the best quality at the best price.

The last group which is made up middle aged women did not perform because they missing some of their members, however, they got up and added sound and dance to the other groups while they were performing. Whenever the spirit moved them, they popped up and gave out a holler and/or a dance move.

It was a dope and inspiring experience. I appreciate the groups boldly sharing their work and getting us involved with the performance. It was definitely one of the highlights of my trip and a performance that I learned from. After the group was done performing we all took pictures with one another and it was clear that we were all going to miss being in class together.

-J