The Code of Gumboot
Group Project

Bryton Scott, Muhammed Modhien, and Deirdre Okumu


The Code of Gumboot

The gumboot dance (or lsicathulo) is a South African dance
historically performed by mining dancers wearing wellington boots.The Gumboot Dance can be traced to Apartheid. Mine owners forced migrant workers to work in flooded mines, where they were chained to their stations and prohibited from speaking with one another. Workers communicated using sounds they made with gum boots they were issued and the chains that confined them. The language they created became a popular dance in the 1970s with the end of Apartheid. Gumboot dance steps are still performed today.

Bryton Scott

Bryton is a creative and ambitious designer living in Johannesburg, South Africa and is a current third year multimedia designer, studying at Greenside Design Center with a focus on animation.

Muhammed Modhien

Muhammed is a passionate and enthusiastic multimedia designer at Greenside Design Center in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa – capable of creating new forms that are imaginative and creatively appealing to the eye.

Deirdre Okumu

Deirdre is a passionately spirited and inquisitive conceptual graphic designer. Originally from Kenya, she is currently completeing her BA in Graphic Design at Greenside Design Center in Johannesburg.