DJ Cleo - Nisho Njalo

This is the song that Tofo Tofo are dancing too. Aka the video that is being referenced in the Beyonce “Run The World (Girls)”. I’m waiting for Kwaito to make it’s way to my part of the planet. I love the sound. If you don’t know the “controversy” see video below.

Also from http://blogs.timeslive.co.za/thesocial/2011/05/video-kwaito-dancers-in-beyonces-run-the-world-girls/

I was intrigued when I saw 2 pantsula dancers in Beyonce’s new video, Run The World (Girls). I was convinced that they were local and I was curious about how they managed to make it onto the video. Well, they’re not South Africans but they are from neighbouring Mozambique.

Beyoncé and her longtime choreographer Frank Gatson, Jr. were inspired by the Mozambique dance group Tofo Tofo, after seeing a video of them dancing on YouTube.

It took Beyonce’s people almost 2 months as well as the assistance of the embassy to track them down. She then flew them to the States and they taught her some of their moves.

Frank told MTV “We had seen something on YouTube; we had seen these three guys from Africa, this Mozambique African dance troupe … we were like, ‘Wow, this is an amazing movement.’ And that movement has always been in the back of our head for the last year. From there, we talked about a lot of concepts.”

While pantsula dance is nothing new to us Africans, it’s the first time that it has been given such exposure. I’m glad Beyonce saw something great in them and the movement as a whole. But I wish the genre was as appreciated and respected here. Why do our artists always need the American/ European stamp of approval for us to value them?