How Fela Popularised Twerking

Sola and Yeni Anikulapo-Kuti, learning and watching their father Fela choreographing his dancers.

Nigeria is the home of twerking, says an avid Fela fan who goes by the name Mallam Okwechime Abdul on Facebook. He runs the Facebook group, Kalakuta Chronicles and hosts a show on the online radio, iGroove Radio.

Abdul contends that twerking was made popular by Fela and his dancers.

He wrote in a post on the page: “ In Africa, dancing is revered. Music and dancing are integral part of the African culture. Whenever Africans celebrate or are marking any event, music and dancing are interwoven into such. Children learn how to dance at very early ages in life. They usually learn by joining age groups dancing troupes or watching older members of the family do the unique cultural dances of their ancestors and lineage.

“Interestingly the females are always the focus and indeed the main thrust of the dances in Africa. Across Africa scintillating wriggling of the waist is the hallmark of dances. The style of waist wriggling varies from people to people. But what is common is the reliance on women to package the dances.

“The rest of the world usually waits for International Culture Festivals to witness the Africa dance displays. These also go for people of African descent; Brazilians, Jamaicans, Caribbeans….

However the emergence of Fela on the world music scene took African dancing to a different level.

“Fela repackaged the dances of Africa for international consumption. He redefined waist wriggling and made global audience salivate and drool for more each time his dancers mounted the stage. He started this very early in his career. And he evolved the now worldwide Afrobeat Dance.