Azonto Pandemic

This article is about the a new dance called Azonto.

"Nobody wanna see you rising, when you do they don't even like it. They just wanna see you deep in crisis, drive yourself don't need no license." A few words from Fuse Odg, one of my favorite Azonto musicians. Okay, so if you don't know what Azonto is then you've missed out. However, it's not too late to catch up on some fun.

Azonto is a Ghanaian dance that is making waves all over the world. Most people love the dance because of the simple steps it involves, and how easy it is to get a message across just by making a few hand gestures. Basically, the Azonto dance involves the twisting of the right feet and the raising of the right hand up and down with the right hand moving towards the left leg. However, one can incorporate different types of dances into Azonto and still come out with a nice dance. Dances like Mapuka, Harlem Shake, Gangam Style and Doggy have been incorporated into the dance by many people to make it more dynamic.

What makes the Azonto dance so different is the growth and changes it has gone through since its emergence in late 2011 till now. It started out as mostly the twisting and moving of the hands and legs. However, new steps and styles like the Amanda, Tsabalala, Asokpo, Brukina and the controversial al-qaeda dance were added over time. With support from all over Africa and beyond, the dance is not just a Ghanaian dance, but an African one, for that matter. It has received support from various celebs like Chris Brown, Keri Hilson, Kevin Hart, and Wyclef Jean, to mention but a few. It has also received the acknowledgement of prominent leaders like Prime Minister of Britain David Cameron and president of Ghana John Mahama.

Enough with the talk about Azonto.  It’s time for you to take on the challenge and learn a few steps steps. What’s with that face? It’s no big deal. The first step is to twist your right foot and and raise your right hand up and down towards your left foot. That ‘s the basic step, you need to master that before moving on. Then you can move on to the next step called the grab, pull and azonto. Imagine you are grabbing someone and pulling him or her to you and you will be all set with the grab and pull step. Just use both hands and moving them in the opposite direction. You grab and pull, grab and pull and then you do the azonto step I described earlier. To learn more azonto moves log on to the Youtube channel Wumaame, search azonto dance tutorial and you will be ready to boogie. For azonto songs search for Fuse Odg’s ‘Antenna and Azonto’, Wizkid- Azonto, Sarkodie- ‘U go kill me’, or Keche- ‘Sokode’