Jukebox Thursday: Dance crazes that got the world moving
Comedian Trevor Noah once said in one of his routines that South Africa is the happiest country in the world, this because we sing and dance regardless of how we feel.
DJ Black Coffee. Picture: Gallo Images
This shows us that music is a universal language, and so is dancing, every culture had its traditional dance and they identify themselves with it. In fact, they take pride in knowing how to do their traditional dance.
In this week’s edition of Jukebox Thursday, we take a look at artists who created their own dance trends and had the world moving to it. These are dance crazes that went so viral even those who cannot dance couldn’t miss out.
Here are six of the best dance crazes that just had the world moving:
- Harlem Shake
This went big in 2013 as an internet meme in the form of a video where people performed a comedy sketch accompanied by the song of the same name. People saw that on the net and decided to replicate it, making it viral. What’s special about it is that, the dance starts with one person dancing like a crazy person while the rest act like they don’t see what’s happening, when the beat gets in, everyone just goes crazy, much like how things go viral.
Watch this compilation:
2. Arthur Mafokate
We cannot talk about dance trends and not mention Arthur Mafokate. This kwaito legend did not come up with only one dance trend, he came out with so many and each and every one of them got even toddlers dancing. He introduced Kwasa kwasa, qobetsa and twalatsa, to name a few.
Remember kwasa kwasa?
3. Slyza Tsotsi
This one, started by Cassper Nyovest, went crazy in a short period of time and got even celebrities on board. This one done by former Rhodes SRC president and his crew was used to promote their Purple Thursday campaign.
4. We Dance Again
In a brilliant way to promote his single We Dance Again, DJ Black Coffee challenged people on a dance competition. What they did was dance to the song and post a video to YouTube. It got people moving, but most importantly, even Mbali Mlotshwa, his wife, accepted the challenge and posted a video of herself dancing to the song.
5. Pharell Williams’ Happy
You don’t have to listen to Pharell’s music to know this one. The guy explained to Oprah that he posted the video online but never expected it to go that viral. This might be the most viral dance craze as almost every country has people who posted a video of themselves dancing.
Watch compilation here:
6. Michael Jackson’s Thriller
He may be dead but his music will live on for generations to come. His thriller video is the creepiest, with the dance moves, outfits and make-up of those of zombies, well, at least the ones we’ve seen in movies. People got crazy with this one.
Watch video here:
