Mac Cool's Uganda Letter

The Podo dance troupe, from Rakai district perform at Ugandan functions such as graduation parties and weddings. The women and some men wear a special goat skin (or cowhide) around their waists. The long hairs of the piece falls over the hips and the buttocks. The main skill of the cultural dance is the way the dancers shake or rotate only their waists to result in the hide moving rigourously. This is the core movement of the dance so the rest of the body, apart from the feet which also move rigourously, stay controled (They only move or wobble as a result of the motion of the waist). The arms move gracefully or in sticato moves. This emphasises the control the dancer has over the torso. He or she will tilt the head, teasing and flirting with the crowd like a geisha. Photo courtesy of M. Trabolsi.

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