Viral Culture: Matt’s dance

A brand of football trickery and showmanship have only reaped bad results on the field for South African teams, but is also a great dance.

Screenshot.

We’ve been going on about Diski, but I couldn’t resist sharing yet another Diski-related video. Earlier this year, no less an authority than The New York Times defined Diski as “… football in township slang.” The site’s editor, Sean, doesn’t like Diski; he says in real life, this brand of football trickery and showmanship have only reaped bad results on the field for South African teams. In any case, this time featuring Matt Harding, of Where the Hell is Matt fame (you know, that guy that got paid to go around the world making ridiculous dance videos?) Not particularly interesting, but precisely the stuff that viral sensations are made of. Well, Matt has resurfaced in South Africa, where he was  apparently invited to come learn the diski dance.

Watch him not (completely) screw it up. Rhythm like you’ve never seen before, indeed.

Further Reading

Davido’s jacket

Davido’s appearance at ‘Amapiano’s biggest concert’ turned a night of celebration into a study in Afrophobia, fandom, and the fragile borders of South African cultural nationalism.

Empty riddles

Drawing on his forced migration from Rwanda, Serge Alain Nitegeka reflects on the forms, fragments, and unsettled histories behind his latest exhibition in Johannesburg.