Dance has evolved immensely over the years in Nigeria. It has been changing and transforming in accordance to the trends, new songs and pop culture.
We have carefully analyzed some of the most popular dance to infiltrate the Nigerian music/entertainment scene since 2007.
When Olu Maintain was in the studio recording Yahoozee in 2007, Mans probably didn’t know it was going to be a hit. The song gain so much popularity home and abroad that even U.S Secretary of state was dancing Yahooze nonstop during his vsisit to Nigeria. Yahoozee enjoyed months of endless air play from 2007 uptil early 2009 which would always be remembered that one time Olu Maintain was releavant. The moves didn’t require any special dance tutorial to master. It involved slightly throwing two fingers in the air….just at your face level while making a smug face and singing along to the song.
It wasn’t too long ago Terry G, king of the zanga was show casing his crazy alanta skills in numerous music videos. My father used to say this dance should have come with a “please don’t try this at home” tag attached to it because of how it involved rigorous steps and movement of the hands and legs. The dance style requires movement of the hands(palms wide open) as if fanning something, alternating your left hand and right hand between your chest level and waist level. Meanwhile, raising your left leg and right leg alternatively.
This dance originally started in Ghana, people believed that it was a renewed version of the 1960’s Kpangolo dance. The marvelous thing about azonto is that it is a freestyle dance, it comes with few basic moves and then the dancer can personalize it to taste. A perfect azonto dance can be achieved when you place your right leg slightly in front of your left, and twist on the whole leg on the ball of the right foot. While simultaneously pointing your first finger and crossing your right wrist over the left in front of you. With each twist of the leg, move the right arm forwards and backwards. Artistes like FUSE ODG and our own national tressure Wizkid are responsible for most of the song’s success.
This is an indigenous dance of the Akwa-ibom & Calabar people of the south-south region of Nigeria. Etighi was shot into the limelight by none other but Iyanya, the self proclaimed Mr. Oreo. He made the dance popular when he made it the main focus of the music video of his 2012 song, Kukere.
Skelewu is a 2013 song by Davido and produced by Shizi. It was released along side an instructional dance video with a cash prize of $10,000 for the winner of the dance competition. After this, thousands of internet users released their own versions of the skelewu dance online hoping to be “the chosen one”. The dance eventually caught on, especially after the re-release of an official music video where he shot in the UK and featured a huge number of UK dancers.
Shoki was made popular by Ex-YBNL artiste Lil Kesh. hink of yourself scooping imaginary water from the floor and then bringing it up to one of your eyes. Many people noted, the Shoki dance is a kind of dance that makes the dancer look like an imbecile…while trying to twist both legs and arms altogether to one side of your body.
You know when you play a video game and you get to fight the ” baddest of all the bosses” at the end?
That’s what we thought about Shaku Shaku, because of the massive following it got, both at National and international level was unimaginable. In 2017, a new dance step took over in Nigeria, thanks Nigerian rapstar Olamide Baddo. The dance steps are like the steps of an intoxicated or high person. It is done by stretching out the arm and crossing them over each other in front with the legs widened out performing a gallop like launch foward alternating between the two legs. Shaku Shaku danced has even been referred to as “The Nigerian Gangnam style”.
One could swear that after the coming of Shaku Shaku that would be it, but less than two years later, Zanku has taken over ” the streets”. Zanku dance bears the same name as the song which it originated from. The song was sang by Zlatan Ibile , a fast rising act in the Nigerian music scene. Zanku leg work involves a series of rapid leg and hand movements.
Is there any dance we failed to include? Tell us in the comment section below.
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i feel so old?