VANGAUTENG THRIVES IN COMEDY
Has plans to drop a debut song
Local creative, Ponalo Ngwanaamonna better known as VanGauteng uses her creative skills to sensitise people and inform them about real life situations. Her art is unique, she often shares stories through comedy, with the hope of drawing people’s attention to how they can address them. She uses social media where she posts videos that often receive large viewership.
“I started doing this in 2018 then took a short break in 2019 as I was still busy with school, and finally made my return in 2020,” she shared. VanGauteng told Vibe that while doing videos, she scans through and tries to be at par with what others are doing in the industry. She has decided to focus more on producing content, especially because of the positive feedback she receives each time she posts something. “Most of the people are happy to view my videos because some of my skits usually comfort them because of the reality that they carry. My followers often tell me that what I have posted is a situation that they went through and so it gives them a sense of healing to realise that they are not alone,” she said.
This vocal creative used to perform at MKOP(My Kind of place) Open Mic Comedy and Poetry in 2018, where most of her fans would go to witness her stellar performances. From last year in 2023 to date, she is focusing on performing at bigger events, something that she regard as an opportunity for growth. What puts a smile on her face is that she only started this not even knowing that she would be recognised for it one day. She encourages young people to utilise their talents and
decorate the local creative industry because her observation is that Batswana are talented and often do not want to come out to show off what they have.
She also has big plans to release a song this year. “I am working on a debut single dubbed ‘Selelo Same’ where I will be featuring Still Growing,” she said. She further told Vibe that after visiting popular Prophet Joel Keitumele better known as Ntsoro’s church where she got a prophecy, that she was born for comedy, she knew she had to start doing even better to reach greater heights. “Everyone who does comedy is unique in their own way and this is what I applaud local comedians for. It is not easy to put it together but they are just doing good,” she said, adding that what keeps her going is the fact that her family supports her in everything that she does.