Types of Somalian Dance

• The African country of Somalia has many traditional dances. Among them are dhantur, buraanbur, gaaleeyso, diisoow, boondheere, jaandheer, kabeebey, luumbi and niiko. Dances like dhantur (also known as dhaanto) are performed by groups of women and men, who dance opposite one another, sometimes taking partners and sometimes dancing in their gender groups. Other dances, such as gaaleeyso and diisoow, are men's dances, in which they perform percussive, stomping footwork. Niiko is a traditional Somali wedding dance that women do in groups or individually, and which involves tiny, intricate movements of the hips and buttocks. Boondheere is a women's dance along the same lines as niiko.
  
  

Somalian Dance Footwork

• Somalian dances are generally set to a 4/4 time signature. Most involve simple, rhythmic footwork. In dhaanto, the dancers enter by skipping: this is a move the majority of Westerners will know. You begin on your right foot, pushing off and jumping up. Land on your right foot again, and hop onto your left foot, pushing off and jumping up. Land on your left foot, and repeat the entire sequence of moves. In niiko and boondheere, your feet stay still, planted about hips' width apart, unless you want to move around the dance floor, in which case you simply walk forward as you shake your hips, walking on beats 1 and 3 of the four-beat bar. When male-female couples dance niiko together, sometimes they shuffle their feet in a fast side step, first going right, then left.
  
  

Somalian Dance Arm Movements

• In boondheere, most of the motion will come from your hips, but you'll also perform some small arm movements. Keep your arms bent and your elbows up by your waist. Now push your arms forward and down, as if you were making a "choo-choo train" type movement. Make small, vertically-oriented circles with your elbows, one slightly to the right, then one slightly to the left. You can either hold your hands loosely and bend them downwards at the wrist, or hold onto the ends of your scarf if you are wearing one.
  
  Dhaanto involves a lot of clapping. You'll clap on beats 1 and 3 of a four-beat bar. Alternate which hand goes on top as you clap: first, clap with your right hand on top and your left underneath, then switch. Another dhaanto arm movement is a simple swing. As you move forward or backward, swing your arms as if you were walking fast, with your elbows slightly bent and your hand ending up about a foot and a half in front of you, at your head's height. Swing up on beat one, and back down on beat two. Begin with the right arm, then swing the left on beats three and four.