Although the Kuru San Dance Festival is held in the belly of the Kalahari, this did not deter hundreds of tourists, both local and international from negotiating treacherous terrains to witness this great multi-cultural festival. Traditionally, it kicks-off on Friday night with the Healing Dances. According to the organisers, "the healing dances are as old as the San culture and usually take place around the fire at night with the aim of healing people, they also served to restore harmony in the group in times of stress and trouble."
Although many came expecting to witness real healing sessions, there was a huge disappointment as it became evident that more often than not, everything was staged. In a true healing session, the dance is slow-paced at first with the dancers chanting and clapping their hands in rhythm. After sometime, the dance becomes faster and more energetic, sending the shaman (healer) into trances and enabling him to do feats like performing healings on his patients and at times being able to walk on hot embers seemingly without getting hurt. Spectators saw less of that at the festival.
