In 1739, a group of Africans enslaved in Stono, S.C., revolted and fled for freedom. Very few made it. The rebellion was crushed, and its clearest outcome was the terrified slaveholders’ reaction: the Negro Act of 1740, which restricted the assembly of slaves and their use of instruments helpful in gathering groups, notably drums.

That curtailment of liberty wasn’t the only result of the revolt, though. Drums — physical objects central to community building and spirituality in many African cultures — were effectively outlawed, but it was much more difficult to suppress rhythm. One unintended upshot of banning drums was the development of body percussion: juba, hambone, tap dance, stepping.

Or, as Step Afrika!, an excellent company based in Washington, D.C., chants in their new show: “They took the drums away, but they could not stop the beat!”

The assertion is indisputable in “Drumfolk,” which had its New York premiere at the kid-friendly New Victory Theater on Friday. In the bodies of these skilled performers, the beat is obviously unstoppable. Again and again, the dancers pick it up and pass it around with clapping hands and stomping feet, through the legs, behind the back, defiant and unified and inspiring.