Indigenous dance revives ancestral flame

“We have revived an ancestral custom to rekindle our appreciation towards ritual that many have lost touch with.” Karoneshia Nel, founder and leader of the Riel Danser Group
Rieldans is an indigenous Khoisan dance of celebration and storytelling, considered one of the oldest dancing styles in indigenous South Africa. It features frantic footwork at a fiery pace and was originally danced in the sand around a fire, where dust would fill the air as the skilled dancers stamped their feet.
The Uitsig Riel Dansers Group was founded in 2015 in the Cape Flats, by schoolteacher, Karoneshia Nel, to give children an opportunity to learn about their own culture and tradition. This group of more than 50 dancers specialises in performing the traditional rieldans. The organisation aims to educate and broaden dancers' cultural knowledge, using tradition as an instrument toward rising above their current circumstances - especially because the area in which the children stay is riddled with crime and gangsterism.