South Africa 2010: We can’t play football but we can dance!

South Africans may not be the best football players but they surely can sing and dance. I watch TV reports about South African workers on strike, with amusement. Labourers who have dropped their tools to make a point often sing and dance as part of their protest marches. Many of the songs might be “war songs” but the mere fact that music is involved, thrills me. This is unlike another African country that I know, where any form of “strike” is usually accompanied by violence and destruction.

So South Africa crashed out early from the World Cup? So what?

Several months before the first whistle was blown to commence the first match in the South Africa 2010 FIFA World Cup, the official South African tourism board had released a TV commercial on some international channels all geared towards attracting the world to the warmth and excitement that can be experienced in South Africa. As usual, music and dance was the key tool. Enter Diski. “Diski” is a local slang South Africa for the game of football.

The Diski dance is a dance which is comprised of a series of choreographed football moves, named from different parts of the country, and was created for the 2010 FIFA World Cup as part of its advertising campaign. The moves are named in Tswana, Zulu, Sotho and English amongst others and include “Tsamaya”, “Heel Extension Mkhari” and “Chester”. The adverts were shown on CNN, BBC, Eurosport and SkySports amongst others. The motivation of the advert was to give soccer fans “a chance to learn the moves and “feel the rhythm of African football””.

The Internet has plenty of Diski dance videos to offer, but I am sharing a carefully selected few with you. Enjoy! 🙂

Learn the Diski Dance

South Africa 2010 TV Advert

Where the Hell is Matt in South Africa?

Aki & Pawpaw do the Diski Dance

Diski Dance in Chicago, USA

Should you want to create your own Diski Dance video, just download the Diski Dance MP3 audio file.