AFRICAN DANCE CULTURE
Azonto is a dance from Ghana. The dance is known to have originated from a traditional dance called Kpanlogo associated with the coastal towns in the country such as Chorkor, James Town, La, Teshie, Nungua and Tema, in the Greater Accra Region (www.en.wikipedia.org). The dance trended quickly through a dance video with dancers presenting the azonto dance with a white mask covering their faces uploaded onto YouTube. This then became a well-known viral video with dance moves that feel contagious. Azonto has now become a Ghanaian famous dance move mixed with the tradition of Ghana and hip hop.
Many people once they hear of a dance move called Gweta may think it is a bit bizarre as they automatically think of the little village in Botswana. However, a popular group named Toofan, made a dance called ‘Gweta’ which had a meaning of ‘dodging jealous people’. Toofan come from Togo and seem to be one of the most popular groups from Togo making Togolese people very proud.
Kizomba is both a dance and a style of music, which developed in Angola in the late 1980s and early 1990s (www.ozy.com). The dance originates from zouk which is now also popular by the fans of Portuguese rhythmic music .Kizomba is a dance from Angola. The music Angolans dance to Kizomba which was influenced from Caribbean zouk. For Angolans, Kizomba is one of the most popular genres of dance and music. It is a copied version of and sung generally in Portuguese,It normally has a romantic flow. It was the Kimbundu name for a dance in Angola as early as 1894 (www.en.wikipedia.org).
In today’s world, African dance moves are often merged with hip-hop and street dance which has made it even more popular as other dancers are able to attempt Afrobeats and dance how they feel most comfortable.
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The History of Hip-Hop dance includes the people and events since the late 1960s that have contributed to the development of the early hip-hop dance moves, such as uprock, breaking, locking, roboting, boogaloo, and popping. Black Americans and Latino Americans created uprock and breaking in New York City (Submitted from Trident technical college). Hip Hop was found in New York amongst black and Latino ghetto. The main components of Hip Hop are Rap, Break Dancing, Graffiti, in 1967 to South Bronx came Clive Campbell from Jamaica. He is known as one of the founders of hip hop 25 Jan 2013 (submitted from UC, Boulder). A street dance is a dance style—regardless of country of origin—that evolved outside dance studios in any available open space such as streets, dance parties, block parties, parks, school yards, raves, and nightclubs. The term is used to describe vernacular dances in urban context (www.en.wikipedia.org).
In African dance the drum is used as one way to bring the community together and set the mood. “The beat within the music provides the heartbeat for the music” this heartbeat helps the dancers move within the rhythm and their inner emotions come out as they stamp their feet and clap their hands.