Kwassa kwassa (or kwasa kwasa) is a dance created by Jeanora, a mechanic in Kinshasa from the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

, that started in the 1980s, where the hips move back and forth while the hands move to follow the hips. It was very popular in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. The dance was popularized by

soukous Soukous (from French '' secousse'', "shock, jolt, jerk") is a genre of dance music from Congo-Kinshasa and Congo-Brazzaville. It derived from Congolese rumba in the 1960s, becoming known for its fast dance rhythms and intricate guitar impro ...

music videos, as well as the videos of Kanda Bongo Man, Pepe Kalle, Viva La Musica, and other Congolese musicians. For the first time in Congo, all the groups adopted these dance steps. This had not happened before because bands preferred to have their own specific dance.

Etymology

According to Jeanora, the words ''kwassa kwassa'' comes from the

Kikongo Kongo or Kikongo is one of the Bantu languages spoken by the Kongo people living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, Gabon and Angola. It is a tonal language. It was spoken by many of those who were taken from th ...

language, meaning "I'm working".Jeanora teaching how to dance "Kwassa kwassa", with Zaïko Langa Langa's Nippon Banzai as background music.

Origins

In 1986, the neighborhoods of Kinshasa were contested by leading Soukous artists and groups such as Zaïko Langa Langa, Papa Wemba and Viva La Musica, King Kester Emeneya and many others. A mechanic from Kinshasa, Jeanora, then creates a dance he calls Kwassa kwassa, imitating the use of a gearshift. He made numerous performances on Zaire's national television and taught the dance in bars and ngandas. He also claimed that he got an award of "Best vedette of Africa". The dance was widely popularized by Paris-based singer Kanda Bongo Man. Jeanora is currently in

Kongo Central Kongo Central ( kg, Kongo dia Kati ), formerly Bas-Congo is one of the 26 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its capital is Matadi. History At the time of independence, the area now encompassing Kongo Central was part of the ...

. This kind of beat is referenced in the 2008 song " Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" by American indie rock band

Vampire Weekend Vampire Weekend is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 2006 and currently signed to Columbia Records. The band was formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Ezra Koenig, multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij, drummer Chris Tomson ...

References

Democratic Republic of the Congo music African dances {{DRCongo-stub