Telling a Tale

Performers from 'Moving Into Dance'
Performers from ‘Moving Into Dance’

Last month we put a link to an article about Keegan Baker, the young boy who’s become something of an internet sensation after a video of him performing traditional Zulu dancing went viral. Keegan is obsessed with anything relating to Zulu culture, but is particularly attracted to the dances, which form such an important part of traditional Zulu culture. Nowadays most dancing happens in night clubs, and is more about shaking your booty than telling a story, but even today traditional Zulu dancing survives to tell a tale, even if it’s only reserved for special occasions or entertaining tourists! Whether it’s a dance to fire up the men before they go hunting, or the more gentle umBhekuzo dance which represents the ebb and flow of the tide, there’s nearly always a picture being painted by the dancers through the way they shake their sticks or rattle their seed shakers.

Go to zuludance.wordpress.com to read more about the different types of Zulu dancing and the meaning behind them, and visit the Moving Into Dance website to see a beautiful contemporary take on traditional Zulu dancing.

Photograph courtesy of midance.co.za.

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