Culture

I Love Botswana ensemble takes ‘best of Africa’ to Broadway

‘I love Botswana ensemble’ is expected to once again own the international stage, having wowed the world last year. This time, the group is billed for a grand appearance at the glamorous Broadway

Published

5 years ago

July 26, 2018

Africa News Watch

‘I love Botswana ensemble’ is expected to once again own the international stage, having wowed the world last year. This time, the group is billed for a grand appearance at the glamorous Broadway.

From August 22nd to 23rd the group is expected to draw crowds with their electrifying performances at the heart of New York at the Times Square.

The ensemble is a collaborative assortment of about seven groups namely, Mophato Dance Theatre, Skit Beat, Nare tsa Pina, Bana ba Kwena, Khudu Thamaga, Ntirelang Berman, and Tsoga Africa.

Speaking at the launch recently, Minister of Environment, Natural Resources Conversation and Tourism, Tshekedi ‘TK’ Khama highlighted that ever since his Ministry- through Botswana Tourism Organization (BTO), refocused their energy into marketing Botswana through among others, the prestigious IT Berlin event they have had a turnaround of over P350 million.

“This is the best investment I know of. But today we are talking the next event, we are talking Broadway, we are talking something big. We need to stand up and be counted among the best,” he said.

Khama further said that ‘when we get to Broadway we are going to show them the best of Africa, we are going to blow them away. This is an opportunity that we have to show the world our culture and skill of the youth we have. We are going to show them what Botswana is and who Batswana are . I never imagined we would one day have a group to showcase in Broadway,” he said.

For his part, the man behind taking the group to Broadway, the President of the Battery Dance Festival- Emad Salem, said that they anticipate to put everything together in two months, something which he says is unheard of.

“We are doing this in two months and it really is something that is unheard of. People usually take two years to bring such a production to life. We have a 360 advertising strategy to brand Botswana to millions of people in US, a billboard in the heart of Times Square.

Andrew Kola, the Art Director of the I love Botswana ensemble said: “It is every artist’s wish to stage in Broadway of course it is the biggest platform in the world.”

Kola further explained that their production called ‘Pula’ will represent all of Botswana’s tribes. “We all relate to the word Pula, it means a lot to Batswana and we use the phrase mostly in our celebrations and during gatherings. The production basically focuses on issues of the rainmaker who brings the rain.”

Related Topics:best of Africa Botswana Broadway I Love Botswana I Love Botswana ensemble Slam Reports

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Culture

Ghanaian actor Don Little arrested for knocking down motorcyclist

Published

3 hours ago

December 8, 2023

Akanimoh Etim

Dimunitive Ghanaian actor, Stephen Atangah, popularly known as Don Little, was reportedly arrested by the police in Accra on Friday after he allegedly knocked down a motorcyclist.

Media reports in the West African country said the actor knocked down the rider with his car while driving in the Kasoa Area A, with videos showing him protesting against his incarceration while in police custody.

According to a report by an online platform, the actor was transporting a friend to the hospital when the incident happened.

“According to Don Little his friend called him that one of their friends wanted to take his life so he should intervene,” the platform said.

“On the way to the hospital, he met some motor riders so he blew the horn for them to give him way but they refused.

“In a bid to manoeuvre, he knocked down one of the motor riders with his mirror.

“Unfortunately, there was an officer at the scene. The officer claimed that Don Little slapped him twice but the actor denied the claims. He was taken to the Kasoa police station”, it added.

The video also showed Don Little behind bars at the police station and interacting with some of the officers.

“He was lamenting why he had been arrested and the person he was involved in an accident had been left to go home,” the online platform narrated further.

“Some of the police officers were also heard wondering why a person with the stature of Don Little would be allowed to drive in Ghana.”

Culture

Switzerland returns stolen 2,000-year-old marble head to Libya

Published

1 day ago

December 7, 2023

Akanimoh Etim

In what has been described as a significant move, Switzerland federal authorities have returned the marble head of a young woman from the Hellenistic period believed to be around 2,000 years old to Libya, 10 years after it was discovered in a warehouse in Geneva.

The Swiss Federal Office of Culture said in a statement on Wednesday that it had handed over the marble sculpture to the Libyan Embassy in Bern as part of restitutional framework of the law on the international transfer of cultural property.

The sculpture, which is 19 centimetres high, according to the North African Federal Office of Culture, dates from between the 1st century BC and the 1st century AD.

Historians say the object probably came from the archaeological site of the ancient city of Cyrene in present day Libya.

“It is an archaeological vestige of great value and an exceptional testimony to Hellenistic expansion in North Africa,” the office of culture said in a statement.

Local media reports that the cultural artefact was found during a customs inspection in a customs warehouse in Geneva in 2013, and was confiscated during criminal proceedings in 2016 on suspicion that it had come from a looted excavation.

“The marble head is entirely covered with a reddish patina which provides information on its origin, according to which the Cyrenaica region is one of the rare regions in the Mediterranean basin where we find terra rossa and marble of such quality,” a media report said.