Ready your hands to clap and your feet to stamp (in rhythm, please). Via Katlehong, the vibrant and exuberant South African dance company that evolved from an alternative for local youth to the threatening gangs roaming the township into an international phenomenon, returns to Peak Performances with the U.S. premiere of the “Katlehong Cabaret,” March 16–24.
Performed by a powerhouse cast of nine singers, dancers, and musicians, the rousing 70-minute show is introduced by a master of ceremonies who guides the audience through some of the typical daily experiences of Katlehong black population. The alternately joyous, tragic and funny work combines the Pantsula, a kind of South African Hip-Hop that blends show-off moves from the local townships with fashion and slang, and gumboot, a response to the horrifying life of the miners translated into rhythmically complex, expressive tap dancing performed in the miners’ rubber boots. The dancers create their own intricate music through their exuberant singing and dancing feet, generating an electricity that charges through and ignites the audience.