Goal.com

A football dance is making its mark on World Cup host nation South Africa ahead of next year’s event.

In less than three months the tournament that has captured South Africa's collective imagination for over half a decade will kick-off and the entire nation will find itself in the global limelight on a scale never seen before.

It was with this in mind that South African Tourism – South Africa’s official tourism promotion agency – set out to capture the nation’s spirit in a dance. And so the Diski Dance was born.

Follow the steps in the video and learn the Diski Dance ahead of the 2010 World Cup.

Diski is common South African township slang for the game of football, and the Diski Dance is a uniform routine that showcases the nation's passion for the sport. The dance is based on what Wendy Ramokgadi, the choreographer of the Diski Dance, calls 'our own township football style'.

“The whole idea was that we needed to come up with something that is truly South African. Our country's football is rhythmic and so all the moves that we use in the dance are those same moves that are used on the South African football pitch, moves you can only find in our country,” said Ramokgadi.

“The Diski Dance is one of the things I am most proud of, I really am excited about it. When these people come to our country, let them come and feel the rhythm of Africa. We must just work, wear, eat, sleep the Diski Dance,” exclaimed Ramokgadi to FIFA.com.

For Sugen Pillay of South African Tourism, the Diski Dance is about preparing to host the world next year.

“The concept of the Diski Dance is to show our welcoming spirit as a nation,” said Pillay. They intend to mobilise the nation through the dance, from corporate organisations and schools, to government and the general public,” said Pillay to FIFA.com.



Goal.com spoke to people in Cape Town during the time of the Final Draw in December, and they were enthusiastic about the Diski Dance.

Twenty-two-year-old Marlin said, “It’s fun, it makes you smile when you do it because it is all in the name of football and fun. I want to learn it so that I can do it during the World Cup next year.”

Felicity was also keen to learn the Diski Dance. “I want to know how to do it so I can teach my family and friends, it looks like a good laugh and quite a workout too,” she said with a smile.

Fifty-three-year-old taxi driver Dustin explained that he enjoys the World Cup dance as much as his children do.

“I think it is brilliant, and I am not too old to do it and the young people can laugh when I start dancing too, like my kids do, but I am doing it for soccer and for myself. I do the diski dance to feel part of the World Cup festivities,” he said.

It seems that Cape Town is gripped with World Cup fever, and the diski dance will surely become known throughout the country and by June next year even FIFA president Sepp Blatter will need to take diski dance lessons.

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