Dhamaal music and dance reveals a rich and complex mixing of cultures that is shaped by history.
Amirr (centre) parades though his village ahead of the imbalu circumcision ritual. Imbalu begins with dance and music, as initiates visit relatives and friends to receive gifts.
Luke Drey/Getty Images
A year later, it’s clear that the dance promotes a conscious concept of Africanity – sowing feelings of tolerance and contentment that have conquered international audiences.
An initiate parades through his village in Mbale, Uganda.
Luke Dray/Getty Images
South Africa’s famous toyi-toyi was adopted from Zimbabwean troops, who learned it in Algeria – showing the interconnected nature of Africa’s liberation struggles.
Angolan dance troupe Fenómenos do Semba.
Courtesy Adilson Maiza for Fenómenos do Semba
During the coronavirus pandemic the Jerusalema dance challenge enacted a way for communities to connect - repetitive enough to be picked up and varied enough to tease.
The Collective of Black Artists (COBA) has been supporting African and Caribbean dance in Canada for 25 years.
COBA/Yosseif Haddad