Afro Dance

History behind Afro Dance
Afro Dance mainly originated in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is still practiced today and there are many forms
of African dance as there are different human groups. Some sources and rock paintings of Dance
performances in the Saharan region of Africa tell us that this dance form existed since 6000 BC whereas
some sources tell us that it’s unclear how or when afro dance originated but it has been a very
important part of African lives for centuries.
This dance form expanded from Africa to America mostly through forced migration of Africans taken as
slaves in 1500s. Rhythms like Salsa, Afro-Cuban Jazz, Brazilian Samba, Columbian Samba, Venezuelan
drums and many others have African roots.
It originated as people felt the need to express or reflect the communal values and social relationships
and to maintain an interaction between spiritual forces and the community.
During the 19th century the African people used to dance wearing different animal, deity, devil and other
masks and these were called “masquerade dancers” but with the evolution in this dance form we have
seen changes in how the dance form took a new road from a traditional to a contemporary and modern
form.
As it was an important part in the lives of Africans this began in tribes, villages, houses and even in
schools children were taught the dance form to maintain a physical control, later it began in dancing
clubs and towns.
Rhythm and Music

Highlife was a style of Urban Recreational popular in West Africa in 1950s, it originated in Ghana where
musicians adopted western dance-band instruments at open-air nightclubs to celebrate the exuberant
spirit of independence. E.T.Mensah is considered the King of dance band Highlife and has played in
many bands and locations. In Nigeria, local instruments were used as the Yoruba created juju rhythms,
Francophone countries elaborated the Latin American rhythms of the cha-cha, while Southern Africans
danced to the modern African beats of the kwela. In some cultures the dancers themselves sing or play
musical instruments as they perform. Normally the musicians lead the dancers, although there are
cultures in which the dancer takes over the initiative and sets up a dialogue of rhythmic exchange. The
music and rhythm is called afrobeat.
Usually people confuse between the terms afrobeat and afrobeats but, these are two different terms.
Afrobeat is a music genre which involves a combination of West African music styles such as fuji music
and highlife with American funk and jazz, with a focus on different vocals. This originated in 1920s in
Ghana and in 1960s in Nigeria. The biggest Afrobeat artist in the world today is Wizkid a Nigerian artist.
Afrobeats is a sound that originated in West Africa in the 21 st Century which is a combination of
different genres such as British house music, hip hop, dancehall, soca, Juju music, highlife, R&B and
others.
So we can see that Afrobeat and Afrobeats are totally different genres.
Formations
There are four principal African dance formations: a dance team using a formalized floor pattern; a
group using a free-flow floor pattern; a group using a formation from which solo dancers emerge to
display their individual skills; and the performance of a solo dancer—usually a ruler, ritual specialist,
herbalist, or comic entertainer—who may be supported by a group of musicians. Earlier men and
women used to dance to different rhythms and their body movements were also different; men
stamped their foot to beats of the drums in a strong way expressing their masculinity whereas women
moved in a more gentle way and focused on their hip and waist movements, but as this dance form
expanded to America and other European countries and expanded both women and men started
dancing as they wanted irrespective of their gender.
Some of the best Afro Dancers across the world:
1. Unkle TC and Kurtyswift (UK Afrobeat pioneers, professional dancers and choreographers and
lead the Afro Dance Championships across the world)
2. Incredible Zigi (Ghana) He is the CEO of Afrozig Movement which is a home of dance creatives
on the streets of Ghana.
3. Yoofigreene (Ghana) Founder of Afrobeats in China
4. Afrobeast ( also called ‘Crazy legs’)
5. Iziegebe ‘Izzy’ Odigie (Nigeria)
My Favorites are:
1. House Yoda
2. Coccaina
3. Badgyalcassie

Afro Dance

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Afro Dance

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History behind Afro Dance

Rhythm and Music

Some of the best Afro Dancers across the world:

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