Diski Dance

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South Africans love dancing almost as much as they love soccer. It’s not surprising then that these two passions have come together in anticipation of the country hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup™. It’s called the Diski dance and you’ll want to learn all the moves.

South Africa is a country with rhythm at its heart. As our excitement at hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ grows, our feet begin to move and our bodies begin to bend to a unique beat. We call it Diski dance fever and it’s taking the nation by storm.

Spearheaded by SA Tourism, the Diski dance was initially created for an international television advertisement aimed at highlighting South Africa’s readiness to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup™. It is loosely based on South Africans’ unique style of soccer moves. From its first performance, the dance captured the imagination of the nation who have embraced it as the official dance for the tournament.

The Diski dance is made up of 5 key moves: the Juggle or Teka (juggling the ball from left to right), the Header (bouncing the ball on the head), Table Mountain (flattening the back to keep the ball behind the head), Trepa (a word used to describe flicking the ball from behind the neck, over the head and onto the foot) and the Bridge or Brija (passing the ball over the left foot with the right foot and back again).

When you put all these steps together, you get a dance that epitomises the country’s sense of fun, as well as its diversity. It’s not surprising that spontaneous bouts of 2010 dance fever have been reported at parties, conferences, sporting events and school functions throughout South Africa. The dance has also made an impact on the global stage, debuting on CNN International, BBC World News, National Geographic, Eurosport and Sky News Sport.

South Africans enthusiastically learning the relatively easy steps and groups of young dancers have been deployed across the country to teach the public the moves. The dance is also being promoted through online, as well as commercial media, such as local television stations.

How to Do the Diski Dance

A brief demonstration is in the video below. For detailed instructions on each move, visit: http://www.southafrica.info/footballfridays/diski-dance2.htm