Even though the popular South African dance form langarm often conjures up images of couples sokkie dancing to the beat of Afrikaans pop music, new research has shown the dance form was enjoyed by coloured communities back in colonial times.
Michael Dunseith, who recently completed his Master's degree in Musicology at Stellenbosch University, has found that “The term 'langarm' was in widespread use by the so-called coloured communities of District Six and the Cape at large in the 20th century. It referred to the then-current ballroom dances and dance bands, as well as earlier ballroom dances and dance bands from the 1930s onward.”
Having been influenced by many styles of dance and music, such as English country dancing, the quadrille or square dances, military dance bands and Cape Malay quadrille bands, over time langarm became increasingly popular, he said.
Inspired by the late Willie Jales’ passion for preserving the legacy of coloured langarm dance bands in the Cape, Dunseith explored what langarm meant for the coloured people of Cape Town.
Jales was a tenor and alto saxophonist, originally from District Six, who led both a Christmas Choir and a ballroom-langarm dance band, Willie’s Starlite Orchestra.
“Ballroom langarm music and dance practices represent an unbroken tradition of musicianship and dance skills that span from the beginnings of the Cape colony until the present.
"No other cultural group in South Africa manifests an evening of ballroom-langarm dancing in the same way that the members of the Coloured community do, with a high level of traditional ballroom skills as well as the remnants of the ‘squares’ utilising the vastrap rhythm. This has now been adapted to modern versions of the American line dance, echoing strongly the old longways of the English country dances,” Dunseith said.
He said in the 1800s slaves were the musicians of choice.
“Even upon royal visits, coloured dance bands were chosen to play at the City Hall. Langarm-ballroom bands were very sophisticated.
"As long as this awareness can be maintained, through the help of the dance studios, combined with the fun and camaraderie of the new line dances, the dancing public will continue to enjoy these unique events as prime occasions for social interaction in a fun and civil environment within the community,” Dunseith said.