Abednico Tshambani, Secretary General of Botswana Dance Sport Association (BODANSA), has expressed satisfaction with the rate at which dance sport is growing in the country. Speaking on the sidelines of the National Dance Championships in Palapye over the weekend, Tshambani said dance sport has grown tremendously as the Association has been able to introduce it in most parts of the country.
The championships featured clubs and dancers from all over the country, who were all vying for national team slots ahead of regional and international competitions. St Mary’s English Medium School emerged the overall winners, followed by Dance Line in second position and Maunatlala CJSS in third. Tshamabani said the competition was a success despite the low turnout of clubs.
“Most of our affiliates are schools and they are currently facing financial challenges. However, there is abundant talent in Botswana that needs to be developed. We have reached out to potential sponsors and we are optimistic that they will give us positive feedback,” he said.
BODANSA usually relies on funding from the Botswana National Sports Commission (BNSC), which Tshambani said is inadequate. While he thanked the BNSC for its financial support, Tshambani insisted that the funding is not enough to cater for BODANSA’s expenses, which hampers their efforts to develop dance sport in the country. The National Dance Championships were coupled with the BODANSA Ordinary General Meeting (OGM), aimed at updating affiliates on progress made so far. One of the Association’s notable achievements was being able to introduce the sport in most parts of the country.
“We are going to engage all stakeholders and retired players to assist us to take the sport to greater heights. One of our main targets in the year 2016/17 is to send at least two couples to the World Championships. We will also be benchmarking with countries like South Africa,” said Tshambani.
BODANSA will host a dinner dance next month at Tlotlo Conference Center to raise funds for some programs that have been on hold for a while. The Association also intends to engage the media in spreading the message of dance sport country wide. In conclusion, Tshambani said BODANSA also conduct workshops for coaches and officials to advance their knowledge.