Gumboot Dance from South Africa

 Gumboot Dance from South Africa

    The dancers in this photo are performing a kind of dance called gumboot dance. This kind of dancing has a very interesting and important history. How did gumboot dancing come to be? In the 1900s, the government in South Africa had a system of laws that kept white and non-white people apart. This system was called apartheid. Under the laws of apartheid, most of the land in South Africa was kept for white people.

    Because of these laws, many black South Africans were forced to leave their land in rural areas. Some of these black South Africans ended up working in gold mines for white bosses. The conditions in the gold mines were terrible. The work was long, hard, and often dangerous. Workers were treated poorly. Many were forced to wear ankle chains.

    And the floors of the mines were often flooded with water, which could cause disease. To deal with the water problem, supervisors had workers wear tall rubber boots-gumboots. Workers were often not allowed to talk to each other in the mines. So they used their gumboots to communicate.

    They would slap their boots, stomp their feet, and even rattle their chains to communicate with each other. This is how gumboot dancing was born. Gumboot dancing involved rhythmic, percussive moves. The dancers used their bodies as the drum, making noise with their boots and hands.

    They drew from their traditional dances and rhythms to make new movements and songs. The songs that went along with their dances often had to do with the difficulties of their work lives. Apartheid ended in the 1990s. Since then, gumboot dancing has thrived in South Africa and beyond. This unique rhythmic dance has inspired dancers and musicians around the world.

Vocabulary:

performing            :        biểu diễn 

government          :        chính phủ

apartheid               :        phân biệt chủng tộc

forced                     :        bị ép

rural areas              :        vùng nông thôn

conditions              :        điều kiện

gold mines             :        mỏ vàng

treated poorly        :        đối xử tồi tệ

ankle chains           :        chuỗi mắt cá chân

deal                          :        đối phó

supervisors             :        người giám sát

communicate         :        giao tiếp

rattle                         :        lạch cạch

involved rhythmic  :         liên quan nhịp nhàng

traditional                :         truyên thông

rhythms                   :         nhịp điệu

movements            :        sự di chuyển

thrived                     :        phát triển mạnh

beyond                    :        vượt ra ngoài

unique rhythmic    :        nhịp điệu độc đáo

inspired                   :        lấy cảm hứng