Good to be back: Klopse event delivers cheers at sold-out Athlone Stadium
Vibe: Athlone stadium come alive
After a two-year hiatus, and just coming off a successful Cape Town Street Parade last week, this past Saturday saw the Kaapse Klopse competition take over Athlone Stadium in full force, with a sold-out crowd of 10 000 spectators in attendance.
All 13 Kaapse Klopse Karnivaal Association (KKKA) troupes took to the stadium in the first week of the five-week competition, bringing the audience to their feet with spectacular performances in the Klopse Jol and Grand March Pass categories. The troupes competed in the categories of the Best Dressed Troupe, as well as Senior & Junior Drum Major.
The unmistakable sights and sounds of the troupes had the stadium filled with cheers of support in an all-day showcase of the impressive rhythmic sounds of banjos, guitars, ghoema drums, whistles, trombones and tubas in a seemingly non-stop parade of memorable performances.
Muneeb Gambeno, director of the organisers of the Kaapse Klopse Karnival Association (KKKA), said the annual competition event represents the “sports” facet of the tradition.
“Firstly it serves to preserve our choral, dance and movement, and marching tradition and it further serves to spark aspiration in our youth - a platform they can use to become professional artists one day, but always understanding that the competition should be healthy. Ultimately the event brings our communities into the same space at the same time and is a wonderful vehicle for social cohesion,” he said.
The Kaapse Klopse competition is split into two sections each year based on a number of factors such as the size of minstrel troupe, size of minstrel troupe support, general quality of performances and historical context of each group.
Section one consisted of six troupes this year including Manenberg Superstars, Fabulous Woodstock Starlites, West London All Stars, Juvie Boy Entertainers, Baruch Entertainers and Cape Town Hawkers.
Section two had seven troupes in the form of D6 Raw, Ashwin Willemse Orient, Exquisite Golden Gate Hanover Original D6, TV Stars, Posh Vibrant and Playaz Inc.
Gambeno added: “Whilst we set out to improve the experience for our patrons at the next event on Saturday, we are very happy with the quality of the performance of the Klopse. We think we are set for a very exciting competition season.”