This workshop also introduced me to the Gumboot Dance and its dark origins. I was quite naive about dance at first and always have reflected upon dance as a joyous or celebratory practise, but this certainly wasn't the case with this dance. Gribben (n.d.) explains that the origins of gumboot dance come from the Apartheid laws that saw the segregation and discrimination of the non-white population of South Africa. During this period it was commonplace for the black South Africans to be dragged from their families and put to work in the dark and flooded conditions of the gold mines. The workers were given a basic uniform of minimal safety that included overalls, a hardhat and the now infamous gumboots to protect their feet from the ever increasing wet conditions. Due to the opression that was being experienced, the mine workers were not aloowed to verbally communicate and so a system of percussive sound was created in the form of their gumboots to communicate throughout the mines. It's popularity grew and became a cultural milestone that today signifies hope and resilience hence it's embedded within South African black urban culture.