This week on Inside Africa, CNN International heads to South Africa's western and northern Cape to follow the stomping feet of the men, women and children who are bringing back an energetic expression of culture and creativity, the Riel. Rieldans is a folk dance that has evolved from South Africa's most ancient cultures. Almost forgotten in the last century, the Riel is experiencing a revival. The programme meets Benjamin Bok, a cultural activist who is helping restore the dance's popularity by travelling to remote towns and schools promoting a dancing competition.
Bok heads to the Elizabethfontein Primary School in the Cederberg Mountains. This is a Rielschool; a place where teachers and pupils embrace the dance and incorporate it into many of their lessons. Mariette Kotze is the Rieldans leader at Elizabethfontein and she explains to the programme how teaching the Riel has transformed the school and their local community: It changed the whole school's set up, it transformed our children. It brought the community closer and our little children blossomed because Riel is in their souls. Riel is in the soul of the people.
Elders from the community are encouraged to come into the classroom and help teach. Kotze explains how this came about: This is a dance handed down from generation to generation. The moment [the children] started dancing, the parents said: No, teacher, that's not how you do it. Let me show you how to dance the Riel.' So that is how the community came closer to the school.
Riel dancers act out scenes from everyday life in the stories they dance out in the thick layer of red sand covering the dance area, which is kicked up into the air as they move, creating dust. The Riel is also a method of courtship for teenage dancers; Kotze explains: In the riel, if you throw down your hat, then you are wooing a girl. The moment a man dances round you and throws his hat down, the girl knows he's trying to woo you.
The cultural significance of this dance is explained to the programme by Captain John Cornelius Witbooi, chief of the Griqua-Nama tribe: This is much more important than just fun for the simple reason that we, here in South Africa, lost our culture as a result of apartheid and colonialism.
Peter Takelo, a cultural activist, explains how the heritage of the dance is reflected in its movements: The Rieldans is about stories because our forefathers were storytellers and through the Rieldans we are trying to tell those stories One of the more important things is as the child hits the dust, he tastes the dust. It is as if he is talking to his ancestors because he is coming to thank them for the Riel he is doing.
Rieldans champion Anisha Kotze further outlines the theme of identity when describing the importance of reviving the dance: The Rieldance died out and nobody [practised] anymore. Then the AKTV breathed new life into the riel, brought back our culture and started the competition. The competition has been a success, Bok explains: Twelve years ago, this competition was initiated by the AKTV and it's still growing. This year, we have about 103 [people] participating alone, but there's more groups in the western Cape mostly.
The revival of the Riel has also benefited local industry. During practise, the children wear special red dancing shoes made in the small hamlet of Wupperthal. The programme meets Gerhard Faroa, one of the shoemakers at the factory whose families have been making the same shoes since 1833. Faroa tells the programme that he is grateful to have a source of income: The Riel has helped us a lot, it's made us famous. But even in Wupperthal there is very little work - the community struggles financially. Many folk are subsistence farmers and they have to grow their own vegetables for use at home and for the people who live in poverty.
The show airs at the following times:
Monday, 11 December at 0630 SAST
Tuesday, 12 December at 0330 SAST
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Zero in on one that says yes (and no)
Andy Marken May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Hero image courtesy of Deposit Photos
For content creators the most difficu...
29/05/2026
With InfoComm 2026 just weeks away, NDI is giving attendees plenty of reasons to...
29/05/2026
Reaffirming a partnership that has defined Canadian sports broadcasting since 19...
29/05/2026
Mobile/tablet is No. 2 device for watching TV, suggesting that the sports-production industry needs to take another look at the format
Ring Digital's Sprin...
29/05/2026
Berliner Ensemble, one of Berlin's five major theater companies, has expande...
29/05/2026
Solid State Logic will showcase its new compact, fly-away TCA Tour audio product...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, passed away last month on April 12 ...
29/05/2026
Paramount+ will be the English-language U.S. home for Barclays Women's Super...
29/05/2026
Further strengthening its virtualisation strategy to fully support broadcasters ...
29/05/2026
Swiss broadcaster Canal Alpha has deployed Harmonic's award-winning, software-based XOS Advanced Media Processor to modernize playout operations across cant...
29/05/2026
PTZOptics will showcase a new generation of intelligent video workflows at InfoComm 2026, June 17-19, Las Vegas. Visitors to booth N8227 will see how PTZOptics ...
29/05/2026
Arizona's Family has launched the Arizona's Family Sports (AZFS) streaming app, a new direct-to-consumer destination for live, local sports. The app is ...
29/05/2026
Starting in 2027, DAZN will be the exclusive home of The Canadian Football Leagu...
29/05/2026
Comcast Business has detailed the advanced network infrastructure it has deploye...
29/05/2026
In two-day event, leaders from academia and industry explored solutions to chall...
29/05/2026
The Basketball Tournament (TBT), now entering their 13th year of competition, ha...
29/05/2026
Roku has launched FOX One as a Premium Subscription on The Roku Channel in the U.S. Roku customers can now subscribe to FOX One using their Roku account for liv...
29/05/2026
In its sixth year, the broadcaster's coverage has become a global brand and ...
29/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent ratings news and is derived from press re...
29/05/2026
The days are getting longer, the temperatures are rising, and playlists are filling up for the season. With summer around the corner, Spotify's global edito...
29/05/2026
New retro-inspired MPC announced
There are few devices that have gained the status held by Akai Pro's MPC range, and in recent years, the company have s...
29/05/2026
Save up to 30 on acclaimed titles
Following a successful launch at Superbooth 2026, Bjooks have revealed that they will be continuing the Kickstarter campa...
29/05/2026
Binaural monitoring application improved
Genelec have just released an update that brings some powerful new features to their HRTF-based binaural headphone ...
29/05/2026
6 June 2026 at SAE Institute, London, UK
IMSTA FESTA 2026 is almost upon us, with some of the biggest names in pro-audio set to descend upon SAE Institute i...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, died April 12, 2026, at his home in...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Comparing 5 AI Video Enhancers for Restoring Old Video Quality
Kate Luvis May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Digitizing VHS, MiniDV, and other legacy formats doe...
29/05/2026
Studio Hamburg Builds New Post Pipeline with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Workflow replaces a patchwork of legacy tools...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
At the Intersection of Music and Dance, an Epic Collaboration Boston Conservatory musicians and dancers found creative parallels in their recent performance o...
29/05/2026
Back to All News
Latino Film Institute Fellows Screen Their Short Films at the Egyptian Theatre
The Inclusion Fellowship and Spark Animation Grant uplifts 15 ...
29/05/2026
GLOOKAST LAUNCHES CINNAFILM TACHYON PLUGIN FOR MEDIA PRODUCER AND MEDIA SERVICES
This release first appeared here.
Visit our Tachyon product page or contact...
29/05/2026
May 29 2026, 09:00 (PDT) Dolby and rednote Bring More Immersive Storytelling to...
29/05/2026
Something fundamental has shifted in how people consume media. Audiences aren't abandoning television or radio content; they're just expanding how, wher...
29/05/2026
Youtube exclusive special drops today
Watch now
UKTV today announces another e...
29/05/2026
Back to All News
The Official Trailer of Physical 100 Italy, on Netflix From Se...
This week on Inside Africa, CNN International heads to South Africa's western and northern Cape to follow the stomping feet of the men, women and children who are bringing back an energetic expression of culture and creativity, the Riel. Rieldans is a folk dance that has evolved from South Africa's most ancient cultures. Almost forgotten in the last century, the Riel is experiencing a revival. The programme meets Benjamin Bok, a cultural activist who is helping restore the dance's popularity by travelling to remote towns and schools promoting a dancing competition.
