Badiragatsi choir march onto the finals
Larona Makhaiza | Monday June 12, 2023 12:00
Badiragatsi are now set to face other groups that got position one in their respective regions in Botswana.
The finals of 2023 National Arts Festivals are set to take place on July 1 at a venue to be confirmed in due course. The winners of the southern region went toe-to-toe with 12 groups from the southern region to scoop position one.
Badiragatsi were the second group on the day to be called onto stage to deliver their performance of the day. Badiragatsi capitalised on the chance given to them and showcased their class in Dikhwaere from their vocals, dancing to the tune and being in synch throughout the performance.
Throughout their performance, Badiragatsi kept the fanatics of Dikhwaere entertained by easily connecting with them. Though Badiragatsi put on position one performance, they were given a run for their money by Ditorokong, which hails from Mogoditshane. Just like Badiragatsi, Ditorokong delivered an electrifying performance on the day.
They composed a song that paid tribute to the late Gong Master and the song worked immensely on their side as people got to relate well with it. However, their push on Badiragatsi was not enough. Ditorokong finished second. They were given 80% for their performance while Badiragatsi won the competition by 82%. But Ditorokong did not walk away empty handed, they won P8,000 in cash prize money.
Meanwhile, the third placed group was the one hailing from Kanye called The Vultures, which finished on 78%. They walked away with cash prize money of P5,000. The competitions proved to be tough and even hard for the judges to pick a winner.
Dikhwaere form part of the competitions organised by the government through the Ministry of Youth, Gender, Sport and Culture (MYSC). Other choirs that took part in the competitions are as follows; Mokwepa, Tsunami, Nyaphiri, Magoboka, BTC, Diphala danger, Ntshuyadikaka, Matsosangwao, Mogoadira and Marakadu from Tlokweng which finished in the last position on home soil.