What image comes to mind when you picture a poet? Chances are you’re thinking of a wan, possibly consumptive Victorian. A far cry, indeed, from the sparking live wire that is Botlhale Boikanyo.
But then Botlhale Boikanyo isn’t your ordinary poet. She’s not your ordinary ‘anything’, refusing to put herself in a box. And why should she, when in addition to spoken and written word, she also expresses herself through acting, dance and teaching and when she’s not doing all of the above, she is the newly appointed UNFPA Regional ICPD Champion for East and Southern Africa.
While her diversity is impressive, Botlhale takes a simple view. “For me, it’s all just storytelling in one form or another.” Although she’s passionate about all platforms, she admits that poetry was her very first love.
She started experimenting with the art from when she was just six years old, when her teacher was preparing a poem for the school concert for the Grade 7 learners to perform. Botlhale, then in Grade 1, asked if she could try too. Her teacher agreed, and she and her mother worked on the piece that weekend. She performed it at the concert, and a star was born. “From that moment on, I knew that this was what I wanted to be doing. I’d perform whenever I got the chance; at parties, at weddings, at funerals…”
All of that practice stood her in good stead when, at the tender age of 11, she decided to enter South Africa’s Got Talent. It wasn’t necessarily about winning, she recalls. More than anything, she wanted the opportunity to improve her family’s circumstances, and she figured that if she got a chance to show the country what she had, the right people might notice.
And they did. Although the show’s producers were initially sceptical (“no one had ever entered a poetry performance, so they didn’t know how audiences would react”), South Africans fell in love with Botlhale. She went on to become the show’s youngest winner and the first poet to win – and from there, the world opened up in a way that had been unimaginable to a child who had seldom ventured beyond her Mafikeng hometown. She shared stages with presidents and stars, from Los Angeles to New York.
That was just the beginning of Botlhale’s star turn. Just a few years later, when she accompanied her mother to sign up at a talent agency, her natural exuberance got her noticed and earned her a spot at an audition for Scandal, which had long been one of her favourite shows.
“That actually turned out to be one of the more challenging times of my career,” she says – strong words for a girl who managed to balance international appearances with a stellar high school career. “My character made her first appearance at the time social media was gaining traction, so I had to deal with mean-spirited comments while still trying to handle my own issues as a teenager.”
It may have been a difficult situation, but it was also a valuable one. “I quickly realised that everyone has an opinion and wants to voice it. I had to learn how to drown out all that noise and believe in my own voice.” It wasn’t just about the learning curve, though … Botlhale’s role on Scandal quickly led to other appearances in films and series on platforms like Mzansi Magic and Showmax.
Eager to expand her skills, she went on to study Film and Television, recently completing her Honours degree, with a focus that extended beyond performance into writing, directing, and producing. Each of these disciplines feeds each other, she says. “I don’t want to be a single success story, and I don’t need to be. Acting helps me get into the shoes of other people, which helps me understand them – and that makes me a better writer. Meanwhile, studying production helps me make better choices as a performer.”
Her dedication to the arts has found expression through another avenue, too … her foundation, which is all about helping young people from under-resourced communities find their voice. “Giving back has always been part of my life, and when I wanted to do this in a more formal way, I didn’t have to go far to look for a cause.
I just thought about what young Botlhale would have needed,” she says – which happens to be a space where she could express herself, learn and discover more about herself through art, dance, drama and other mediums. “It’s my heart’s work,” Botlhale says. “There’s nothing quite like seeing a kid whose was too shy to make eye contact transform into a performer.”
Her work with children, and youth advocacy, is what got her noticed by UNFPA. Botlhale is delighted by her appointment as regional ambassador, because it aligns with her work, advocating for young people, women and girls’ rights and bodily autonomy. She’s excited to use her storytelling skills to connect with young people across the region. She’s also enthusiastic about creating space for young people to participate meaningfully in conversations and decisions that shape their futures.
With all of these responsibilities, her schedule is busy, to say the least. “But I love what I do, so it doesn’t feel like work,” Botlhale insists. That’s a good thing, since she has loads of plans. Alongside her work with UNFPA, she’s helping to unearth talented young leaders across 10 African countries as co-host and producer of the Breaking Down Borders Africa Tour. She’s still concentrating on her poetry and acting, and is planning to pen a book for creative entrepreneurs, too. Watch this space. Details: botlhaleboikanyo.co.za
Botlhale’s advice for kids with big dreams
“Your voice matters! Hold on to your self-belief and confidence, because when you have these, it doesn’t matter what anyone else says. There’s room in this world for your dreams.”
Article by Lisa Witepski.
