Better turnout at Miss Botswana auditions
Dumisani Ncube | Tuesday August 22, 2017 16:24
The Gaborone auditions were held this past weekend at Avani Hotel where a number of aspiring models auditioned. The grand finale is scheduled to take place on September 28 at a venue yet to be announced.
“We have been to Maun and Francistown hosting these auditions and it seems Gaborone attracted more people compared to the other two places that had low numbers. It has always been like that in those two places probably because most people are based in Gaborone,” the pageant coordinator Dorcas Thobega told Showbiz in an interview.
Critics have put the blame of low turn up in Maun and Francistown on the high amount of auditioning fee, which was P300. They have also blamed poor advertising of the auditions that were mainly publicised on social media.
The large numbers of aspiring models at the Gaborone auditions meant that the competition was stiff. There were new and old faces that have previously tried their luck on the pageant. The models auditioned in front of judges exhibiting their modeling skills and talents such as acting, singing and poetry.
“The talent part is not up to par because our girls are not showing much energy and boldness but this is an important aspect they need to work on. The modeling aspect is much better than the talent one; they have good modeling skills,” she said. Overall the judges were looking at confidence, personality, demeanour, body fitness, sense of style, beauty, conversational skills, talent and international height standard of 1.67 meters.
Thobega noted that the top 20 finalists will be unveiled tomorrow and they will go into a three-phase bootcamp that will be starting in two weeks time. “They will be under the mentorship of experts that specialise in different fields such as etiquette, dance, fitness to mention but a few. This time around we are not having a fashion show for the pageant because it’s costly. It will just be the grand finale. We are yet to announce the prize money for this year’s queen.”