How to dance like an african

A PEOPLE WITHOUT THE KNOWLEDGE OF THEIR PAST HISTORY, ORIGIN AND CULTURE IS LIKE A TREE WITHOUT ROOTS.

– MARCUS GARVEY-

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Since the Dictionary will be updated regularly this journey will be an ongoing learning experience for you. However to get a better understanding for the Afro Dance culture we recommend our full education program. The Duration of the program depends on your learning speed. So if you feel like you need to rewind certain moves & lectures over and over, it will obviously take longer. But thats totally fine, thats why you are here. At the end of the day its important, that you can dance certain moves and know their backround.

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DANCE LIKE AN AFRICAN - Lou Bega

Home Mambo Lou Bega Dance Like an African

Wela wela

Time
Ain't nothing but illusion sometimes we find
Nothing but confusion that makes us blind

Now throw away your fears
Cause happiness is here
Let me in your ears
Singing

Break it down get it down like an African
Move your body to my sound like an African
Shout it out very loud like an African
You can dance dance like an African

Oh-ya oh-ya mama Africa
Oh-ya oh-ya mama Africa
Oh-ya oh-ya mama Africa
Oh-ya oh-ya

Wela wela
Wela wela

Life
Is like a floating river
There's no end dive
You don't have to shiver
There is a friend

Now throw away your fears
Cause happiness is hear
Let me in your ears
Singing

Break it down get it down like an African
Move your body to my sound like an African
Shout it out very loud like an African
You can dance dance like an African

Oh-ya oh-ya mama Africa
Oh-ya oh-ya mama Africa
Oh-ya oh-ya mama Africa
Oh-ya oh-ya

Wela wela
Wela wela

Donnes tout meme si t'as rien comme un Africain
Viens faire danser tes chagrins comme un Africain
Envoutes-moi de tes mains comme un Africain
Et puis danses danses comme un Africain

Alright

Dans l'ombre tout scintille
Je vois aucune autre fille
Et tout mon coeur vacille
Suis-moi

Break it down get it down (mama Africa)
Move your body to my sound (mama Africa)
Shout it out very loud (mama Africa)
You can dance dance like an African

Break it down get it down like an African
Move your body to my sound like an African
Shout it out very loud like an African
You can dance dance like an African

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Letras Academy

Pronunciation dictionary

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African dances: what are they? | The world around us

The only division that can exist is gender: there are dances that are danced by women, there are strictly masculine ones. Men often use purely "male objects" - sticks, weapons, in the dance there are elements of boxing (meringue). In Burundi and Rwanda there is a Bouder dance, which is performed by men in a circle, while the leader has cow tails in his hands. nine0003

Children necessarily emphasize their gender role: I am a man or I am a woman. No special children's game dances, everyone here is an adult. Let the future, but now everything is "not childish." Girls in some communities are specially trained in their dances, it is important for boys to show their endurance and courage.

Men jump a lot. These are imitative movements of animals, and a certain dance pattern. Masai generally only jump and nothing else. But you can immediately see - who jumps higher, that means he dances better. By the way, almost the only people in Africa who do not use drums. nine0003

Women have a huge number of movements, most of them on half-bent legs (but not the same as demi plie in ballet), the body is slightly inclined. Twisting, shaking the lower body is a special female art. The overwhelming theme is purely feminine (with a stupa, for example), but there are also dances with knives.

In African dances the body speaks and articulates. And he articulates in a complex, polyrhythmic way. Limbs, shoulders, head, chest, hips can perform different movements at the same time. Even without moving in space, the body of the dancer can perform many complex movements in separate parts. And if we add here frequent rhythmic oscillations back and forth, then we get a whole complex-dance in one place. nine0003

There are many variations of African dances. All of them are divided into "sections" according to their subject.

Warrior dances . They are called differently (for example, Mokorotlo in Lesotho), but they dance quite similarly, which is not surprising. The most famous dance is Agbekor (in ancient times it was called Atamga - "high oath"). Traditionally danced in West Africa, popular with the Ewe people (Ghana, Benin). In this dance, the imitative part of the military "tactical" movements is high. nine0003

Another famous dance - Ngolo - "dance of zebras" (Angola, Mozambique). Initially, as a duel between the Mazingas and Cambindas tribes, where the winner received the girl he liked as a prize without a ransom. And the wrestling dance Ngolo, "moving" with the slaves to Brazil, became the basis of the world-famous Capoeira wrestling dance.

Hunter dances. African dances are often reminiscent of the main form of human activity - hunting: both the movements themselves and animal masks. Here and Mdomnag (Chad), Lingun (Benin), Ndlamu (South Africa). Dancers in animal skins (leopard, monkey), in bird feathers depict the most exciting moments of the hunt. And from the side of the animals too ... nine0003

Harvest dance. The ritual character of African dances has been the most important since ancient times. An appeal to the gods, a request for a good harvest and plenty of water, which is important, since we are talking about the dances of those countries that are not far from the Sahara (beyond the Sahara). The theme of fertility is the oldest and most important for mankind.

Dances of love . They are performed on certain occasions: for example, by women at a wedding in honor of the bride. nine0003

Ritual dances of initiation. Recognition of adulthood by the community and pride by youth is the main point of this action. Surprisingly, these dances have been preserved in most countries.

Greeting dance in honor of a dear guest. Emphasizes respect for the guest and the pleasure of his presence. The dance tells about how wonderfully talented and beautiful the owners themselves are too. nine0003

Dancing - evocation of spirits - traditional in many parts of Central and West Africa. Spirits - orisha - are the emanations of the single god, the creator god Olodumare. These are very serious and important spirits that "regulate" almost all human life. The cult of the orisha is widespread, including in Cuba and Brazil. Kakilambe is a dance named after a powerful forest orisha. The spirit is called to dance, and it appears in the form of a large dancing statue (straw-wooden-rag) and in a mask. nine0003

In addition to invoking spirits, dancing can also drive out spirits (such is Mganda, mapiko in Mozambique).

A special place is occupied by Healing Dances (or Healing or Healing Dances). According to the description of eyewitnesses, these dances could not only bring a person out of a difficult psychological state associated, say, with the death of a loved one, but also really treat, for example, epilepsy. There is, of course, little scientific evidence here. In any case, what is good within the same culture and beliefs is not accidental and can work there. But it is unlikely to work for a person of a different culture. nine0003

In all these groups of dances, except for Kakilambe, the most famous dances are Ndlamu, Ambasse Bey (Ambasse bey or ambas-i-bay) and Bukutsi from Cameroon, Kwassa-Kwassa from Congo, Yankadi from Guinea, Lingun (Benin), Kupe Dekale (Coupé-Décalé - Ivory Coast and already Paris for a long time) and many others.

Interest in African dances in our time is not accidental. They are little studied, although their influence on modern dance culture is undeniable. And they are impressive, eye-catching. Whoever we consider ourselves to be and whatever theories about our origin we believe in, the “wild” bewitching magic of these dances leaves few people indifferent. nine0003

(You can see examples of African dances in the comments).

Tags: Africa, people, customs, traditions, dancing, folk dances

African dances: does life itself beat in them? | The world around us

Many travelers, researchers, ethnographers and choreographers describe their feelings from contact with African dances one way or another.

Rhythm, dance, music. Music is more complicated - many African languages ​​do not have a definition for music at all, there is no word itself (or a single word for both dance and music). Although there is music in Africa, in general it is a single art: rhythm, dance, song, pantomime and theatrical performance. Synthesis of everything. Physical emancipation of the body and the unity of souls in a common action. Nothing memorized, the process is important. nine0003

African dances are older than Indian dances and go back thousands of years. And, unlike India, in Africa there were no schools in the strict sense, not to mention the manuscripts describing movements. In a broad sense - of course, the dance was a life school, because everything that needed to be told was transmitted and perceived. We must not forget that many African countries did not have their own written language, all traditions were transmitted orally and visually. And vice versa, since there was no written language, everything that needed to be passed on to descendants was transmitted through dance ... The entire history of the tribe, beliefs, all the most important events - everything was transmitted and depicted using the language of dance. And there are a great many tribes in Africa. nine0003

If in North Africa the influence of Arabic dances is significant, then in Central, West and South Africa, according to the impression, everything has been preserved intact almost since prehistoric times. This is how African dances exist now: both as the oldest, reminiscent of archaism (they are called “ethnic”), and as separate movements that have passed into the cultures of other countries (Latin America, etc.), and already modern, urban, staged. nine0003

For the past half century, interest in African dance has grown exponentially. There is not only ethnographic interest here: and “choreographic” (how many modern dances we know have a close connection with African movements), and even medical. And taking into account the fact that during the performance of these dances there must be an element of some special state (trance), research by psychologists is also necessary. nine0003

Dancing can be seen on the oldest rock paintings (about 8 millennium BC). No wonder: dancing in Africa still plays an important social role. They teach social behavior, they help work. Even if a woman hoes, she moves as if dancing. In the general rhythm of work-dance-life. Plasticity and any physical action are inseparable. The plasticity is both distant and sensual. It seems that a person simply allows his body to move. And it knows how. The body is simply given, surrendered to the dynamic rhythm, and all the rhythms, in turn, are already embedded in the body. As soon as the inviting sound of the drums is heard, the body itself switches to other rhythms - the rhythms of the holiday and dance. nine0003

African dances retell ancient stories about gods and human affairs. And wearable drawings also help the story, solid symbolism. Even colors (red - strength and power, black - fertility) play a great role in understanding the dance. The number of lines is also important, for example, 3 - male symbolism, 2 - female.

Dance in Africa accompanies virtually all events of human life - from birth to death. All holidays and ceremonies with dances, competitions with dances, consolation and treatment also with dances. And funeral ceremonies, too, with special ritual dances. And the birth of children, weddings, ritual holidays - this is a continuous dance that embraces the entire tribe. nine0003

Rhythm dances - an amazing variety. It is also in the colorful costumes, drawings and tattoos, masks. They also dance with objects that are unusual for us. The most familiar variation is the stilted dance.

Dancing is theatrical performance and is now the most popular tradition in the countries of Central and West Africa. Today, not a single festival or carnival in the cities can do without this genre. nine0003

And in the villages they continue to dance the way they used to do it in memorable times. Tam-toms sound. Involuntarily, the whole body begins to move. The rhythm is set by the drums, and it permeates the whole being, because it is the rhythm-heartbeat of the whole community, the pulsation of life itself ...

The study of African dances is just beginning.

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