A History of Gumboot Dancing

Nineteenth-Century Mines

• Fetid water filled South Africa's 19th-century mines, so mining companies outfitted the enslaved miners with heavy black Wellington boots, also known as gumboots, to help keep them disease-free and working productively.

Miner Communication

• Communication among the miners was forbidden by mining company bosses, so the miners developed a system to communicate with each other in the darkness of the mines. They stomped their boots, slapped their bare chests and shook their chains, producing a kind of Morse code.

Development of the Form

• Mining company bosses initially disliked the gumboot dancing, but eventually they began to encourage it, allowing dance troupes to be formed and dance competitions to take place.

Persistence in the Culture

• Gumboot dancing remains a part of South African working-class culture outside of the mines. Today's dancers go beyond the traditional steps, adding contemporary music and movement.

Performances Today

• Visitors to South Africa can see gumboot dancing performances and come to appreciate this historic dance form. At the Victory Theatre in Johannesburg, for instance, they can see "Umoja," a permanently staged exhibit of gumboot dancing.