Dance

Zulu Dance is an important part of the Zulu culture, and is often accompanied by vibrant singing and drumming. Dancing is usually performed during a traditional Zulu ceremony. The performances are powerful and quite spectacular, especially when the men and women are fully dressed in their traditional attire.

Tswana Dance is also mostly performed during traditional celebrations. The dancers move in patterns following each other in a row or circle formation and sometimes the men and women will dance in pairs. Tswana Dance is accompanied by expressive arm movements and shuffling and stomping of the legs. It is a very energetic dance form expressed with passion.

Gumboot Dance, developed from traditional African roots, has become a part of urban South African working-class culture. The workers in the often flooded goldmines wore wellington boots and they usually sang and clapped on their boots when they worked. But clapping was most of all used to communicate among each other as talking was strictly forbidden and severely punished during apartheid.

Modern Dance combines elements of classical dancing with a spirit that is purely South African. Much of the impetus of this very African movement has come from white, often Jewish people travelling through the country bringing trends from abroad. Modern Dance is an artistic expression to deal ironically with South Africa’s history, the origins of apartheid’s absurdities and post-colonial inequalities.

Basotho Dance reflects traditional rituals which are seldom practiced without music or dance. For the Basotho people, music is not only a form of recreation, but it is shaped by people’s values and beliefs. Their dances are traditionally performed at ceremonies, such as birth, marriage or initiation.