This month we’ve gone with music that transcends the African diaspora, from vintage Afrobeat, to current chart-topper Afro, and the odd smattering of Amapiano and Afro-house.
How do you dance to Afro music?
So if you’re looking at the entire continent of Africa, plus the diaspora of Afro sub-cultures that have sprung up around the world, then we’ve gone super broad and probably just need to address the obvious; Africa is a continent and the cultures are varied, nuanced and expansive.
So it’s best to just start with some basic grooves.
Start with Afro grooves
Firstly, start by learning the basic grooves required in most Afro styles.
Groove is the flavour and soul of dance, and without it, you’re moves will likely look wooden and stilted.
A great start with Afro styles begins with a focus on hip and chest isolations with the whine, body roll and various lower back techniques.
Check an example of the whine below, demonstrated by yours truly (and taught in our beginner online dance courses)
Then level up and learn some actual Afro dance moves
Then you can start to think about learning actual moves like the Gwara Gwara or Legwork (crossover).
Remember, there is no point in learning a move if you can’t groove to it first.
And keep digging.
This is a surface-level, glossed over description of a range of nuanced dance styles that have rich and long histories. Let this article perhaps become the gateway drug for you to delve into the dance styles that match the music in our playlists.
Enjoy the journey and get dancing bebes.
Learn how to dance to our playlists online maybe?
No need to dress up or look the part bebe. Pause, rewind and replay each lesson on your own terms.