By Ayo Onikoyi

The Nigerian entertainment space has witnessed all sorts of dance steps or styles in the last 20 years or so.

While some dance steps were created by dancers and could apply to various songs or beats, some music artists have been ingenious enough to produce a song along with dance steps tailored for the song.

Over the last two decades, many have come and gone but the echoes still reverberate through time. At least, when such songs are played, which are mostly evergreen, the memories of the dance steps come to mind, and the dance begins all over again.

Potpourri takes a look at some popular dance steps/songs from 2008 to 2022.

2008 Yahooze : After separation from his group known as Maintain in 2004, Olu Maintain went solo and released a banger in 2007 titled “Yahooze”. It was a wild song that came with it a dance style that galvanized the whole world around 2008. The song’s  dance style was so popular worldwide that former American Secretary of State, Colin Powel was seen performing it at a festival celebrating music and fashion at London’s Albert Hall.

2009 Alanta: Most part of 2009 and 2010 were dominated by the Alanta dance, a dance style that  used a patterned movement of the hands as if fanning flames while raising one leg and facial contortions that suggest experiencing orgasm or acute pain. It was populated by Raymond King Gbagi with a single of the same name in 2009.

2011 Azonto: Azonto was the major dance step of 2011. It was a single by English-Ghanaian recording artist, Fuse ODG, featuring vocals from Itz Tiffany. But the origin of the dance is said to have evolved from a community in Ghana. It’s  a communicative dance believed to originate from “Apaa” which literally means to work. Apaa was used to show the profession of an individual.

The azonto dance has since grown further to relay coded messages. The dance later got into the minds of most Ghanaians and Africans alike.

2012 Kukere : Kukere was a song that blew Iyanya into the world and it came with it a dance step rooted in a native dance of the Akwa Ibom people known as Etighi. Whenever the song was played, you had to move your waist and leg in a choreographed manner.

2013 Skelewu : The Nigerian Afro-pop singer, Davido wowed everyone with his hit single released on Aug 18, 2013, Skelewu, and followed it up with a beautiful dance. The dance was invented by Davido. He shot and released two music videos in 2015 with the dance which became a mega hit.

2014 Shoki : Shoki was popular amongst African American and Puerto Rican youths before it was infused into the Afrobeats culture by the Ex-YBNL superstar; Lil Kesh, with his hit single, “Shoki“. This was another comical dance, peculiar to the Nigerian dance scene.

2015 Shakiti Bobo: Olamide never had it better than what he enjoyed with the success of the single “Shakiti Bobo” which was accompanied with a dance step of the same title. It is a comical dance that requires plenty of energy and abrupt interchange of steps. The dance caught like wildfire even beyond the shores of Africa

2016 Dab : Dabbing, or the dab, is a gesture in which a person leans forward into the bent crook of a slanted, upward angled arm, while raising the opposite arm out straight in a parallel direction. Dabbin’ or the dab is also the name of a dance move believed to have originated in the Atlanta, Georgia rap scene. Many Nigerian singers adopted the dance style in their music videos in around 2016.

2017 Shaku Shaku : The dance was created by Nigerian popular rap star, Olamide. The dance was first featured in the ‘Wo’ song, and then followed by the popular ‘science student’ which has 2 videos to its name, all created by this same artist.

2018 Zanku:It was popularized by the Nigerian artiste Zlatan through his hit single “Zanku” which meant “Zlatan Abeg No Kill Us”. Legwork as the name implies, had lots of interesting leg movements.

2019 Tesumole: With the release of  “Lord of Lamba” aka LOL, Marlian Empire emperor, Naira Marley introduced new dance moves, known as Tesumole taken off the track 2 of the album. While his “Soapy” Dance didn’t come off too well, Tesumole dance was a hit, that dotted the entertainment space in 2019

2020 – legwork : Legwork, is believed to have been popularized by Zlatan Ibile and Naira Marley. It was pretty much the dance of 2020 as an offshoot of Zanku. The dance step was applied to virtually every banger that reigned in 2020

2021 Focus : Oguntade Adewale Damola, professionally known as Ajimovoix created the “Focus” dance with the release of his album, titled “T.U.F.B. ( That unserious Focus Boi) in 2021 2022 – Buga : Buga was not only the song of 2022, it was also the dance that dominated the landscape. It is a celebratory song that comes with a dance that accentuates it in a most ostentatious and outlandish manner. The song was a work of art by Kizz Daniel with the help of Tekno. It was a big hit that spiraled into 2023