Kay September filmed a video in 2013 that is currently being shared across social media. The video is a group of dancers performing in the dusty streets of the Northern Cape, giving everyone feel-good vibes.
Kay September lives in Loeriesfontein, Northern Cape and in 2013, she filmed a video of the people in her town. The video is of a group, all dancing the ‘Riel Dance’ (Rieldans).
The video has some real feel-good vibes and really had us wishing we were there too. These talented community members really know how to dance and we felt like we were watching the South African version of the dance-a-thon from ‘Grease’.
The Riel Dance is a cultural dance, it’s considered one of the oldest dancing styles of indigenous South Africa. It originated from the Khoisan. In 2006, the Afrikaanse Taal en Kultuurverening (ATKV) created a championship to make sure the dance form didn’t die out.
“Your bare feet need to feel the red sand”
“The riel is the oldest entertainment form used as a social, cultural and educational tool by the Khoisan people long before Western cultures and traditions arrived at the Cape of Good Hope. It is an age-old dance of the Khoisan hunters, with distinct Irish and Scottish folk music influences, all performed to the beat of “boeremusiek”, Dutch folk songs and minstrel songs of the south of America. It became the dance of the working classes, particularly between the 1940s and 1950s and was danced, especially in the Northern Cape, Karoo and some other regions.” – Wikipedia
My people, my Loeriesfontein
Posted by Kay September on Tuesday, 31 December 2013
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