By Chippa Legodimo
31 March 2008
Botswana Dance Sport Association (BODANSA) finally got the nod on Thursday to become an affiliate of the Botswana National Sports Council.
The decision has left members of BODANSA jubilant and optimistic about the future of the sport in the country.
One of the dancers, Botlhe Mmolawa, told Monitor Sport they have finally got the chance to shine on the international stage and perhaps like other sports personalities, start making a living out of their talents.
"I am happy that we finally got affiliated. This is the break that we have long waited for. Now we can get a chance to hoist Botswana's flag in international competitions," Mmolawa said.
She has always wanted to become a professional and make money while she enjoys herself on stage. She said affiliation will motivate them to take part in the sport unlike before when they were mainly doing it for fun.
She stated that the onus rests with individual dancers and administrators to ensure that their new status benefits the whole country.
"It is now all up to us to improve on our skills and make money when possible, the limitations are no longer there.
I was very happy when the announcement was made," she said. BODANSA spokesperson Tshepo Mokhutshedi echoed the same sentiments, saying their acceptance by the BNSC was a move in the right direction.
"Many people do not know that we are ranked second in southern Africa after South Africa but unfortunately our dancers could not progress to the international stage because we were not officially recognised as we were not affiliated to BNSC.
All codes are sent for international competitions by BNSC," he said. He said that his association is now planning to affiliate with both BISA and the International Olympic Committee.
He said most dancers who have been in oblivion have indicated that they want to come back. "We have been receiving calls from most of them who now want to get involved.
Grassroots development will be vital if we ever want to achieve international success. We should stop complaining about the past and focus on the future," Mokhutshedi said.
Read comments. Write your own.
Copyright © 2008 Mmegi/The Reporter. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
Hi, i am a qualified proffessional fom SOUTH AFRICA and im interested and impressed by the way dance sport has grown in BOTSWANA. I would like to get involved: I Secialise with
ALL BALLROOM STYLES
ALL LATIN STYLES
HIP HOP
ROCK N ROLL
SLOW DANCE
JAZZ
FREE STYLE
DANCERCISES
SHOW DANCE
My contcts
Cell +2788117777
tel [018] 3633 393 sa dial code
E-mail: madenso@yahoo.com
Thanks