Afrobeats: Azonto, Shaku Shaku and Legwork in Your Own Routine

Afrobeats is the pop music of West Africa, mostly Nigeria and Ghana, and big hits usually come with steps people dance in the street and on social media. Groups learn three of them and build their own routine in that relaxed, grounded style.

How to play

1. Context: today's Afrobeats versus Fela Kuti's Afrobeat in the '70s; Africa as a diverse continent, not a country (3 min).
2. Azonto (from Ghana): loose knees and arm gestures that 'act out' everyday actions (6 min).
3. Shaku shaku (from Lagos, Nigeria): dragging steps with crossed arms; legwork: fast footwork (6 min).
4. Each group uses a step card and composes six eight-counts, adding one original step they invent (12 min).
5. Show it in a half circle, and each group teaches its new step to the class (8 min).

Rules

• Dance with bent knees and weight low, no pounding the floor.
• Name the country each step comes from.
• No wigs, clothes or makeup imitating African people.
• Respect other groups' space while rehearsing.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: arm azonto works the same seated; the group turns the legwork into hand gestures.
• Students with visual impairments: a partner describes and taps the foot rhythm on their shoulder.
• Ankle injury: does the torso and arm parts and runs rehearsal as choreographer.

Learning goals

• Perform popular Afrobeats steps with a relaxed groove.
• Create and teach an original step in the style.
• Tell Afrobeats from Afrobeat and place their origins on the map.

Equipment for a class of 25

• speaker: 1
• step cards: 6

Teacher tip

Step cards can be a sheet with the name, country and three keywords for each step. Common problem: stiff dancing, so have them loosen knees and shoulders before every rehearsal.

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