I’ve seen a lot of dance videos but this is one of the most amazing that I’ve come across. It looks like the top half of his body isn’t even moving, or maybe it’s gliding, while his feet are going at a frantic pace!
This is Zaouli dancing and it’s practiced by the Guro people of the central Ivory Coast in west Africa. It is named for the mask that is worn while dancing, which was itself apparently designed in the 1950s for a girl named Djela Lou Zaouli. Videos of it are going viral on the internet, labeling it as the “most impossible dance in the world.”
According to UNESCO, the dance is a tribute to feminine beauty. Each Guro village apparently has an official Zaouli dancer who performs at funerals and celebrations. The dance is believed to increase productivity of the village.
In this video, the original music has been replaced by a tune from Ethnodynamix’s Hilight Tribe album, which makes the entire thing a little more frantic. One commenter on YouTube posted that this video shows the technique of “glissment” or sliding.
The commenter also said, “The person in the background is one of his acolytes who accentuate the speed of the footwork by moving continuously around the mask in real-time, the role of the acolyte is also to provide assistance to the dancer because the dancer can only see a small angle in front of his feet, thus making him blind through the entire dance”. This is one of the most amazing dances you will find on the internet. Watch the full video below and please leave us a Facebook comment to let us know what you thought!
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