Soweto dance troupe reboot act abroad

Soweto's most famous gumboot dance group, Stimela, have found new stomping grounds.

The 14-member group, which was formed in 2010, left South Africa in February and have been performing to full houses in New Zealand and Australia.

Thapelo Motloung, the show's artistic director and writer, said they had felt opportunities in South Africa were "few and far between" and decided to take the show on the road.

"We had performed at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown with the view that people would see our work and invite us over. But that didn't happen for years and we realised the scope was getting smaller. I think there are too many artists and too few theatres and so we decided to showcase our talent overseas."

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Motloung said they self-funded the tour, which cost almost R1-million. He used money he had earmarked for a house.

The show is a story about mineworkers who are enslaved and chained together.

"They use their gumboots and chains to make sounds as a means of communicating as they are forbidden from speaking. They create a form of a dance and melody out of it," said Motloung.

Lead singer Thabo Hlatshwayo said it had been a great experience to go abroad and the community in the New Zealand town of Nelson "made us feel like theatre royals".

At Nelson's airport, the group took passengers by surprise when they broke into song and dance.

Motloung said a local couple raised money for them by setting up a crowdfunding page on Givealittle. They raised NZ$760 (about R7,000).

A review in the Nelson Mail praised the group's "rich harmonies" and said: "These men of Africa were proud and fearless. This show was far more than a musical but it did prove that music is indeed 'food for the soul'. I urge you to seriously consider going."

Hlatshwayo said Stimela planned to take the show to France, England, Scotland and Ireland.