African Dance Style (Zaouli) | The Most Impossible Dance in the World Explained 

So fascinating. We do our culture dances and also call in our ancestors to assist and when that happens, most times it's as if they take over one's body while dancing, we have no control at that moment. Thank you for this amazing video! 💜

How to beat Alzheimer's!

@@8088I Hahaha, so true!

Sorry but there is no comparison...

psycodelic bunggie jump... chek that out :D

The North Sentinel Island isn't talked about much either. But the islanders are there doing their own thing. No one interfering.

Exactly

Its also performed in Belize 🇧🇿 this is wild , cultural and amazing

Does the Spirit leave the Dancer when he is finished?

❤ It's So Beautiful To Watch ❤.

Omg I just said the exact same thing right before I scrolled to the comments! ... it's amazing!

Anti gravity

And even more impressive is that whenever he lifts up one leg, the other leg has to support double the weight and maintain the same pace and rhythm of the dance. Amazing strength, endurance, and flexibility. 👍🏻

They look like the have jetshoes in their foot

I think that's what they are trying to look like a flying bird.

Am glad you liked it

Same here. Its almost hypnotising.

Probably amazing with a jump rope

is that so.ething that is practiced to preferfect since spirits ultimately. are the one taking over the one dancing

Dear@@Afrikleo, Hope you are doing fine. I would like to THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH for the WONDERFUL JOB you did with these videos showing some very skilled ZAOULI dancers. The performances of your video (number of views, likes and comments) after only 3 months, show what a great job you have done. IMPRESSIVE! As an Ivorian, I cannot be more PROUD of you for this great promotion of one aspect of African culture you made here. Africans have so much to show and share with the rest of the world. Be and remain blessed and keep up with this kind of great good job.

you are welcome Dara

You should before the peaceful community reduce everything to a black tent

Yeah and in your own countries your treat anything different like shit. Hypocrisy is strong on this one

@@nirvanacobain001 what are you talking about? Have I ever met you? You’re calling me a hypocrite and you are a complete stranger. Please go take your meds. You seem extremely unstable and upset at something and you’re just attacking strangers. Please get some help.🙏

Ten la seguridad q Dios no esta en esto

It reminds me of birds-of-paradise dancing in the way the dance creates optical illusions

Really? My first thought was the upper body was still like a chicken head 😂

Hola

@@zlatananime3368 Hello 🙋‍♀️

It’s very similar movements to Samba dancing. I wonder if the two are connected ?

@@thetraveler1125 In my opinion, samba is quite different from zaouli. I'm not sure if they're connected, but samba does have strong African roots!

@mdharmaraj1631 Definitely! 😊

Amazing

Really unique. Never seen something like that in rythm & dance. Watched it with my head tilted like a German Schäferhund puppy

It’s DEMONIC!

@@xxChildOfGodxx not everything revolves around Christianity.

@@xxChildOfGodxx you're the demonic one trying to demonize a tradition that stems further back than Christianity or the Abrahamic faiths as a whole.

Hahaha!

As a drummer & dancer... 🪘💃 ~ I appreciate this!!! 🙏🏽 (Some other traditions, like is the Mid-East, as a courtesy have ways the dancer can communicate to drummers to speed up or slow down... but this is typically through vocalizations like a trill or a hand movement).

I noticed a couple times with green-and-white-legs the lead drummer anticipated that he would kinda repeat a move in the next "bar", but he changed it up more, and then the beat momentarily reflected a dance move that wasn't happening. It happens, but you can see and hear clearly that the drummers are trying to stay with the dancer, not the other way around! Shamanistic drumming goes like that - the quickening follows the spirit of the moment.

A lot seems to happen in the hips

It's similar to river dancing.

@@awilli182 or skipping.

Hot sand, they should move like that

Legit magick

Cute

😂🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂😂😂😂

Dear Mrs. @Vanessa Bogaert, Hope you are doing fine where you live. The expression of your interest in this traditional dance from my country, Cote d'Ivoire, is so touching. Thank you. I think that out of the more than 4.7 millions who viewed this nice video since 3 months that it is aired, there may be, like you, a good 50 to 100 persons truly interested in making a trip on the ground and enjoy, live, the incredibly vibrant sounds of Zaouli. In the past, they were the flag bearer of our culture and tourism. So if I am correct in my assessment, it is then possible to organize, for such a group, a trip to Cote d'Ivoire. It will be a great trip that none of you will forget for the rest of their life, given the arrangements which will be made to welcome you. We can work on the idea and make it come true. All the best, madam.

@@groupzotahmailzotah7827 did u mean to PRIVATE message her ? Just seems to be on the wrong platform 😲

Hello Mrs. @@natly3123 How are you ? I am afraid I didn't get the meaning of your message. Can you, please, rephrase your remark so that, if necessary, I may explain again my idea ? Thanks.

🤣🤣

Ha, funny.

🤣🤣🤣🤣especially you're the last person on line 🤣🤣🤣

🤣🤣🤣🤣👍

😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁

That's just it, though. It's superhuman. The narrator even tell you it's supernatural. There's a demon involved.

@@rachelgarcia4301 and with all that clothing in 100° weather... wow

@@rachelgarcia4301 I think the word used was spirit.

@@rachelgarcia4301 it's not really super human or supernatural. Maybe to western audiences, because as an African I can say there are plenty of dances like this on the continent. When you grow up with it, it's a lot easier (still a lot of exercise). However, on your point about a demon being involved, possibly inasmuch as demons involve themselves in a lot of human activities and with them speaking of a spiritual partner. Edit: This one looks a little tamer in some ways to what the gule wamkulu do in malawi (though this one and its masqueraders are heavily associated with witchcraft internally).

Every dancer that has practiced +10 years will look super human.

Thanks for watching

It’s DEMONIC

@@xxChildOfGodxx 👈👆Found the bot spammer/ fake christian.

@@shawndavis2616 bot!? 🤖 😂

Shawn Davis the narator said it himself. It’s a supernatural dance. When he puts the mask on, it’s no longer him who is dancing but the spirit that posses him. Now just think about it

I agree

is she still alive ?

Yes it is still there in ivory coast and it's one of the hardest dance to perform

The core strength is wild!!! My abs hurt just from watching!

It may seem impressive, but it's actually really easy. If you're slightly crouched you are able to keep the upper body still while doing rapid small jumps.

Thats bcos they bend at hips and then perform this dance. They arent standing upright

It's the result of the counter balance between the upper costume's weight and the dancer's forward lean/weight. With the right amount of lean to match the pull of the costume, the dancer can remain stationary up top with little to no need to actively adjust for balance (they could almost go limp with their upper body and remain stationary.) As a result, they're free to put their efforts almost entirely into going nuts with their lower bodies (somewhat similar to how the wire and harness systems used in Hong Kong kung fu movies free actors from having to put effort into jumping/moving and allow them to just focus on the fight choreography etc.) Also, slight changes in lean angle to throw off the balance a bit can cause horizontal movement nearly on their own (sort of a controled falling forward/backward) which is where that gliding visual effect mostly comes from. Edit: Also, it's their ability to lean forward while maintaining close to the same center of gravity as if the were standing straight that makes staying on their toes easier. Leaning forward naturally makes your heels want to rise up. That takes a good bit of strain off their calf muscles and lets them maintain their rapid pace longer.

The upper body movements are concealed by the drapes.. But very impressive indeed. 👏👏👏

Ditto

@Kitty Silverlake some weird wisdom words lol

Tf are you saying! Kkkkk

The solist drummer folowing the movements of the dansers is quite comon in West african cultures.

How is this a fact and not your random irrelevant opinion?

Nonsense.

Man I know this a RU-vid comment but god damn you fine 😂 where you from?

​@@johaneaFrom someone non melinated. That's why you will never understand a lot of things😂

It’s a gateway for demons, you are wrong.

@@donnababel652just stop putting ur white washed fantasy beliefs on here and go to ur church 😂

Thanks for watching

Ushering in the anti-Christ. The spirit is already here.

@Tyra Davis they openly talk about these people being possessed by spirits when they put on a mask and do this. What spirits do you really think they are talking about? Or do you just think they are making it up?

The important meaning of “hey dude, look at this cool shit I can do, bet you I can pick up chicks with it!”

@@cyndispeed8233 pretty sure they use hallucinogens in some cultures to get to a trance like state between the heavens and earth

I hope the polish brain learn some thing

@@saythesaysaythesay4519 you're a perfect example of why it'll never come true

@@Sandlin22 Ask the Polish and they will tell you why, they flee their country cos of Hilter instead of learninģ from History they insult and attack refugee, they modern history disgrace,

@@somalitalk8383 😂 funny even though america simply took what already existed and made it better. You r welcome

@@somalitalk8383 take a real hard think about what you just wrote. Is that true? Is that ALL Western culture have the world? And are any of those things exclusive to the West?

Mágica y demoniaca

Thanks for watching

Glad you loved it

Thankyou very much

We?

@@ytallowskids2seedepravityb219 I don't need to explain anything to you. If you don't like wat I said. Move right on. ------------->😌

No it's not important. The entitlement and the audacity..

@@CoolAsianGuy 😃

The spirits make it possible

Are you listening? The spirits are in him.

It's Satanic

@@MrLoobu Nah man I don't do spirits I just smoke ganja. That gives me lots of spirits lol. :-D

They cant

Thanks for watching

@@Afrikleo Your welcome!

🤗No soy africana pero si tengo genes de allá y si se siente contagioso el baile, desde la ciudad del rey poeta Saludos,🇲🇽👍

@@griseldavargas5016 😊❤

Bravo 👏

Thanks for watching

Don't the Irish have no upper body movement in their dance?

It is usally men who have been known to do this dance mainly becouse its a way of thanking Deja Zauli(a female) who once resolved a conflict that was to lead to a war bettwen kings

@@Afrikleo wow

Let the men have something just them only and I'm a woman

Was the costume made for the dance or was the dance made for the costume? Either way, they were probably birthed by the music and are perfect for each other

@@brianmyers4195 It's not as old as you would think, it was all invented in the 1950's. The background story and 'tradition' of it has been somewhat added later to give the impression of it being an ancient, long-forgotten origin tribal dance....sadly not the case!

Short life?

@@JimCrossan he needs to get out more.

That is a fact.....

Yeah I always remind of this when a stupid bum talks to me about "black" culture.... ...like..."Which one?"

@@guiguijol they mean rap, sneakers, and expensive cars🥴

…and than came religion…

@@marcbecker9554 You mean christmuslim religion, specifically.

I feel like the stripes on the legs helps to see visually what’s going on with the moves. As a breakdancer, I always encourage my peers to wear brighter pants colors and white shoes, so the moves can be seen, especially on a dark stage. The Adidas stripes on old school b-boy clothing actually helped in this regard too. Peace ✌️

I love the look of the striped legs.

Aucune endurance, aucune force, aucun sens du timing. Ces gens sont possédés par un esprit. D'ailleurs, c'est expliqué dans le comentaire de présentation.

Its tough, but you can learn to do such movements in a year or two, you'll just only be able to do it for like 10 seconds at a time until you build up the stamina yourself as well.

true the amount of dust being pushed in the air just by the wind created from dancing tells stories about the amount of energy going into this. The legs must heat up to like 40 degree Celsius :D

@@foenerrooo : non, vous ne pourrez pas l'apprendre car ces "danseurs" sont en transe (donc possédés par un ou des esprits qui leur donne la capacité de tels mouvements).

First thoughts.. what a cardio training. 😅

They're definitely amazing and powerful, but Indians are on another level when it comes to dancing. I don't want you to take it the wrong way I'm not indian nor African and I appreciate and respect both cultures, but Indian moves are way complicated and mesmerizing.

As a human, much of African dance and music sings to my soul. Africa feels like all of our mother.

what country are you from?

ME 2....AA HERE

i'm jelous too.

@Jay Rock AK India is beautiful ❤️

Nice Im from africa, SUDAN🇸🇩 💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙

Unique... not really. Ever see a Maori war dance.

@Jay Rock AK Noone give a f to pakistani

Have u seen Airtel

Smart one aren't you?

In addition, id say the mounted mantle/mask has a type of suspension that keeps it from being jostled around. So it keeps it firm, which contrasts a great deal with vibrating footwork. You see a floating mask over frantic feet.

U 4got to mention there body it's amazing n it would be nice if yuh put up sum videos of you doing it it seems yuh know all about it

Here comes the white man trying to figure the black man out..

Dope

high regard

Thanks for watching

I knew it in my heart but he confirmed my thoughts

Thank you so much!

It's like they float above their legs....mesmerizing to watch.

I second that emotion!

😂😂😂

My "knees "could Never 🥴🤣😂.

New you know what you are talking about.

@@zaitunjumakeji4120 Indian dance forms, especially classical like Bharata Natyam, Kuchipudi are Acts of Worship. Of the Divine and Nature

Perfectly said

What does dancing have to do with living in tune with nature

@@xxxyungarachnid6473 Many things You connect with your environment and with nature through dance

Thanks for watching

Not his ass is normal for an african. But United statians have a bad ass.

Drugs and time

@@siemino7444 that's a start but if you are not the type of fishing bird specie you're not going to be able to learn to fish as well. Transpose to hominids species..

Literally says the dancers are possessed by spirits dude.

The sliding is something I’ve never seen in my life not even from Michael

Glad you liked it

I was thinking the same thing

ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-n8pMJuEIOd8.html awesome was thinking same...

... that's exactly what it is... African Disco...🎶👍

I thought about getting up to try... But then my knees said, "hold on....wait a minute....no." 😂😂

Glad you enjoyed it!

I agree and thanks for watching

Amin.

Okay but this is a Zaouli dance we’re talking about here and it’s PHENOMENAL ✨

@@HISDAUGHTER0002 it's about culture also

@@HISDAUGHTER0002 Yes it phenomenal , very very phenomenal because it is Demonic/ spirit controlled . Did you listen to the narrator .? "The spirits take control of the dancer"

Demonic

@@leodeuxfilsdelacruz1135. That is exactly what I thought. It is creepy.

@@leodeuxfilsdelacruz1135 well we don't care what you Europeans think, go to hell or your so called heaven

@@leodeuxfilsdelacruz1135 good demons don't watch it you may not be able to sleep at night

No 🤣😆 There are videos with them rehearsing and even teaching the dance. Nothing trance-like 😆 This is simply an athletic skill.

Glad you liked it

Totally agree! 🙏

No they are not amazing. I mean look at their country..

@@dynastiekpolitiekdynastiek6243 umm no dummie

Yes all except the machete culture and the mass killings for being ones a bit darker than the others, and the clitoris ablation and... well you get the point

welcome 😀

Glad you liked it

Glad you liked it

yep because human being are not all.... really the same specie.

@@goognamgoognw6637 DNA begs to differ

@@_Stormfather ask a competent doctor about organs transplant incompatibility between them and others. DNA actually is incompatible.

@@goognamgoognw6637 idiot, even family members can't always transplant organs or blood. Doesn't mean they're different species

Michael Jackson ! Copy a lot of dances form all around the world !

James Browns moves.

the closest you can get to this kind of movement in America, I say House Dancing has a lot of techniques that would be great supplement to this traditional dance. One of my favorite NY house dancer *Brooklyn Terry* of Elite Force/Mop Top now that I've seen this video, I see some of his influences

The jackson come from ivory coast, their vilage is named krinjabo(southeast of the country). Many elders there know People who live with them. Michael Jackson himself, came to this village.

Might be too spiritual to

Perfectly worded my brother.

Мне кажется применяется какая-то вибрационная техника. Что прячется под костюмом? Почему ноги тоже прикрыты? Почему зачастую рядом ассистент? Не для того, чтоб охранять танцора от приблежения любопытных?

Майкл Джексон.

@@ironnemo2436 они подражают птичьему танцу. Есть такая пичужка откаблучиваюшая при брачных играх)

@@ironnemo2436 нет,я видела видео сейчас не найду, где они в простой одежде также двигались.

Love Africa too thanks for watching

Glad you enjoyed it

The mask was created in the 50s, not the dance.

Thanks for your perspicacity. You would be welcome in Cote d’Ivoire precisely in Central West by Gouro people ( Bouaflé, Zuenoula, Gohitafla, Bonon, sinfra, Gonaté Daloa,...)

@@musakamso when was the dance created?

@@musakam It is hard to see the similarities behind the costume, but I've seen James Brown and other old school tap dancers move with a similar effect.

The accolade delivered with such eloquence and magnanimity of thought. As an African I've always known the glorious stuff of which we are made and always despaired at the world's contempt and ignominy. But, ultimately, we shall rise and make our thunderous mark on earth.

riiight..

Try wearing full plate mail and engaging in any activity especially a mortal one.

Interesting you think that Africa is so great with all their genocide and slave trades..

Yeeeeeeeah

GOD IS BEAUTIFUL

Ha ha

You're funny

Ha ha 😅🙂. I have to see you dance to believe you.

Thank you!

This comment coming from a dog

Thank you for watching

True.