Rishile Gumboot Dancers Shouson Theatre, Arts Centre, February 5 to 8 Those boots were made for talking. And the Rishile Gumboot Dancers did much more than dance with their boots: by slapping and tapping them, they made an extraordinary merry music.
Back in the bad old days, South African miners were banned from chatting. So, while they worked in appalling conditions in the waterlogged pits, they communicated by tapping their boots. It was more than two taps for yes and one for no: this was a complex rhythmic language incorporating political activism as well as chat.
Now the chains have become bells, the darkness of the mine a stage, and the slapping of wellies a sell-out.
Rishile means 'sunrise', and in the case of this show, the new day is fresh and full of possibilities.
The men, in their uniform of blue trousers, bandanas and of course those boots, alternate joky slapstick with powerful choral singing, and energetic dance.
'I'm too sexy for my boots,' sings one, as the others parade up and down flirting with the audience, some of whom are screaming with delight. Then an anti-violence song. And then a song sung to new mine recruits: 'Boy, you must sweat.' When a group like Stomp (it is impossible not to make the comparison) travels there are 12 people on tour. Only eight go on stage, and the others are resting from the sprains that are part of their job descriptions. But that is the advantage of international TV contracts. The Gumbooters are six, and they travel with six. So when one is sick, it's another choreography altogether.
