Watch: Street dance puppeteering has become a proudly South African art form

Pantsula is a popular South African dance style that has been incorporated into the art of puppeteering. It is being called ‘Puppetsula’

Jabulani Simango is a South African puppeteer seeking to inspire and entertain with his fiery puppet shows that are infused with traditional Pantsula dancing. He featured in a short documentary that has been nominated as a Finalist for the Discovery Channel Africa ‘Don’t Stop Wondering’ Competition.

The documentary has also made the Official Selection of the Jozi Film Festival.

Jabulani was inspired by the music he heard when he was a young boy. The man his mother worked for used to bring him the old dolls and play music. The dolls became his friends and he learned how to play with them, almost making them real.

When he was younger he was part of a Panstula group but the others were unreliable. He decided to see if he could make his puppets dance and when he figured it out he realised he would never feel disappointed again.

Jabulani likes to work in the cities but he loves going to the small rural villages as the children have never seen something like Puppetsula before.

“I do the shows for survival. In the city, I focus on charging and payments. But when I come to places like this, I am more concerned about the happiness of these guys.”

This form of puppeteering is unique to South Africa, a proudly South African art form!