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Video of 'most impossible dance in world' goes viral, users compare it to RRR's Naatu Naatu

When Félix Houphouet-Boigny, the former president of Ivory Coast, fell in love with the Zaouli dance in the middle of the twentieth century, it quickly spread beyond its initial geographical boundary

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FP Trending|Jan 13, 2023, 14:50:45 IST

There are a variety of dance forms across the world, with each of them having their own significance. While a few of them may seem easy to perform, there are many that need years of practice to become an expert. But, how many dance styles are you aware of? Have you ever heard of Ivory Coast's "Zaouli" dance? According to a recent viral video, it is believed to be “the most impossible dance in the world.” A Twitter user named Figen shared a clip of a Zaouli dance performance on his personal handle.

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The Zaouli dance comes among the category of masked dances that are quite popular, particularly in the Ivory Coast. In this context, the word "mask" refers to both the actual physical object used to cover the face and different body parts of the performer as well as the group of musicians and dancers.

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Zaouli dance was introduced in the 1950s by the Guro people residing in the valley regions of the Bandama River. It can only be performed by male individuals there. They claim that renowned singer-dancer Michael Jackson was influenced by these dance moves and adopted many of his dance techniques from them.

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When Félix Houphouet-Boigny, the former president of Ivory Coast, fell in love with the Zaouli dance in the middle of the twentieth century, it quickly spread beyond its initial geographical boundary. In recognition of Zaouli's significance, UNESCO added it to its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2017. After the dance crew, Circus Mama Afrika performed the dance in 2021 during a worldwide performance tour, it started gaining international popularity.

Coming to the video, a person from the Guro community can be seen performing the Zaouli dance while wearing a costume. He donned a massive mask-cum-headgear with two horns attached to the upper portion. A few musicians were providing him with music through their drum beats. The man was only shaking his legs while keeping the upper part of his body still.

The unusual dance form unquestionably left the viewers in splits. Thus, the comment section has been filled with numerous hilarious reactions. A user revealed, “I do the same dance on sunny days when I walk without sandals on the sand.”

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Another one sarcastically referred to it as “good for cardio.”

An Indian user pointed at the similarity between Zaouli and the hook steps of the Golden Globes 2023 winner ‘Naatu Naatu’ song from the movie ‘RRR’, helmed by SS Rajamouli.

Here are some other reactions:

Since being dropped on Twitter, the one-minute clip has earned as many as 1.4 million views so far. It has also amassed more than 44,000 likes on the microblogging site.

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First Published:Jan 13, 2023, 14:50:45 IST
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