Thabisong Youth Club
Thabisong Youth Club was a community centre in Diepkloof, Soweto.
Contents
History
In 1974, Mrs M Makhudu formed the Thabisong Youth Club in Soweto, with the purpose of bringing youth off the streets to learn about the ways of their people and to teach them some of the traditional tribal dance which was gradually being lost. Many forms of dance were taught to the young people, including the unique South African dance bred out of the hardship of working in the mines, the Gumboot Dance.
Members of the youth club went on to form the Rishile Poets, who performed songs and poetry around the townships of Soweto to nearly 15,000 people in two years. This company eventually became the Rishile Traditional Dancers in 1990 and then the Rishile Gumboot Dancers of Soweto, combining the magical African rhythms of song and poetry with the excitement and exhilaration of the Gumboot Dance.
Productions
1986: Toshiba (created and directed by Sabata Sesu), Ubuntu Akalahlwa (by Winston Buthelezi and Butiza Ndlela) and Dikeledi (by Willie Tshaka), presented at Thabisong Creche in Diepkloof.
Sources
Greyvenstein, Walter 1988. The history and development of children's theatre in English in South Africa. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Johannesburg: Rand Afrikaans University.
https://toothillschool.co.uk/data/files/dept/music/y7_gumboot_history.pdf
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