Slavery to Liberation- The African American Experience, 2019a

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hear and hear what we feel. Whether or not an individual has maintained their
childhood comfort level with movement into adulthood or not, we can all appreciate the
beauty of music and movement and its ability to communicate and inspire. Following is
an original instructional lesson that includes gumboot dancing and Steppin’ and can be
adapted for any age.
GUMBOOT DANCING AND STEPPIN’ LESSON
Objective and Activity 1: Students will explore gumboot dancing by watching and
listening to authentic examples using the list of recommended resources or other online
sources. Students will be able to identify the primary steps in gumboot dancing,
including step, stomp, slap, clap.
Objective and Activity 2: Students will discuss the origins of gumboot dancing under the
following headings:
Language diversity: Students will list the most commonly spoken languages
spoken in South Africa and explore how gumboot dancing was a way for miners
to talk without language as a type of Morse code to communicate secretively in
the mines.
Communication: Students will experience the many languages spoken in South
Africa by using common greetings such as hello in Xhosa (Molo), Zulu
(Sawubona), Shona (Mhoro), and Swahili (Jambo).
Unity: Students will discuss how dancing as a collaborative form of expression
served as an act of solidarity between workers in the mines who represented
many different ethnic groups. Students will analyze how the synchronous
movements of the dancers developed a shared love of music and dance.
Objective and Activity 3: After dividing into pairs, students will take turns to create their
own rhythmic patterns through the primary steps of gumboot dancing (step, stomp,
slap, clap).