South African troupe takes township dance 'pantsula' to global stage

Members of a local dance group Via Katlehong perform 'Pantsula', a dance known for its syncopated, quick-stepping, low to the ground format at the Joburg Theatre in Johannesburg, South Africa. Photo: Reuters

Thato Qofela first performed 'pantsula', a symbol of Black South African culture and resistance to the apartheid regime, in his childhood backyard. Now, he is helping to revive the dance style and take it on to the global stage.

The quick-stepping, energetic and syncopated dance originated among Black youth living in townships like Qofela's Katlehong under the apartheid government's system of racial segregation, which ended in 1994. It became a vehicle for social and political expression and resistance.