Gumboot Dance

Gumboot dance originated in South Africa, where miners wore large rubber boots and worked long hours in unsavory conditions. They had no instruments, but were still able to create music by clapping, stomping, slapping their boots, and singing or whistling. The dance came to be a way to keep morale up and build comeradery in these brutal conditions. Today, gumboot dance has become well-known across Africa, and has even begun to infiltrate American pop culture, through connections to hip-hop and breakdancing.