Beats and Moves: Exploring music and dance
Thembelihle Thabethe
Thembelihle Thabethe

CONTENT

What is music and dance?..........................2-3

Music at home..............................................4-5

Missionary schools and Western music ....6-7

Apartheid and divided music.....................8-9

New songs and dances..............................10-11

Music today and dance clubs......................12-13

Glossary..........................................................14

1

What is music?

Music is a sound that people make using their voices, pianos, drums and other props to make songs.

2

What is dance?

Is moving our bodies to music. We move by jumping, swaying. clapping and stomping our feet.

3

A long time ago, before there were schools, children in South Africa learned music and dancing at home. Grandmothers taught songs, fathers played drums, and young people danced happily at weddings and celebrations.

4

These songs carried stories about animals, the land and super heroes. Children learned to be proud of their culture.

5

When missionaries started schools in the 1800s, they taught children European music like church songs and piano music instead of African sings.

6

Many children learned European songs in church and school choirs, but the music they sang at home was seen as not important in class. This made some children feel sad that their culture was less important.

7

During apartheid, schools were divided by race. White children had music lessons with beautiful and new instruments, while black schools had few and old instruments.

8

Even though schools did not teach African music, teachers and parents still helped children learn it.

9

After 1994, South Africa became a democracy. There were new schools, new rules, and all children were treated more fairly. Arts and Culture was added to schools by the government so that children could learn singing and dancing.

10

In Dance Studies, children learned how to make up their own moves, and discover how dance was done long ago. They learned African dances like gumboot dancing and circle dances.

11

Today, man schools have choirs, and dance clubs. From amapiano claps to traditional songs like "Shosholoza", children connect the old and the new, The learn that music and dance are not just fun, they help them remember their history.

12

GLOSSARY
• Missionaries: People who travel to teach religion and often start schools.
• Hymns: Religious songs sung in church.
• Traditional music: Music that has been passed down in families and
communities for a long time.
• Arts and Culture: A school subject that includes music, dance, drama, and
visual art.
• Dance Studies: A subject in schools where children learn about different kinds
of dance and how to create dance.
• Gumboot dance: A strong, stomping dance created by miners in South Africa.
• Amapiano: A modern South African music style that mixes house, jazz, and
soul.

13

REFERENCES
Cloete, M. (2024). Music education in South African schools: Exploring the teaching
of African traditional music in the Senior Phase. ResearchSpace@UKZN.
https://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za/server/api/core/bitstreams/c5277104-edb6-4867-
92b7-7d2365d14c50/content
Makaha, M. A. (2011). Exploring the value of African music in education.
South African Journal of Education, 31(3), 417–429.
https://scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0256-01002011000300009
Department of Basic Education. (2011). Curriculum and Assessment Policy
Statement (CAPS): Dance Studies.
https://www.education.gov.za/Portals/0/Documents/Policies/CAPS/dance/DANCE%2
0STUDIES.pdf
South African Music Education Society. (2021). A brief history of the South
African Society of Music Teachers. https://sasmt-savmo.co.za/a-brief-history-of-the-
south-african-society-of-music-teachers/

14

Jacobs, G. N. (2007). Music as a viable academic subject in the secondary
school curriculum in South Africa – reality or pipe dream? Unisa.
https://uir.unisa.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10500/3696/dissertation_jacobs_g.pdf
Nkosi, M. (2023). Music education in South Africa. Music in Africa.
https://www.musicinafrica.net/magazine/music-education-south-africa
Weber, P. (2020). Taking back Cape Town: Music education in the townships.
In Global perspectives on music education (pp. 453–472). Brill. https://uwc-za.b-
cdn.net/files/files/Weber_9789004430464_chapter27.pdf
South African Journal of Childhood Education. (2024). Feasibility of
introducing digital music skills into South African primary schools.
https://sajce.co.za/index.php/sajce/article/view/1479/3071
Katapila Kakkun. (2025). South African dance: From rituals to global stages.
https://www.katapilakakkun.co.za/historyofsouthaf

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You are free to download, copy, translate or adapt this story and use the illustrations as long as you attribute in the following way:
Beats and Moves: Exploring music and dance
Author - Thembelihle Thabethe
Illustration - Thembelihle Thabethe
Language - English
Level - Read aloud