August 17, 2009

Blondie gets her groove on - Decalé Gwada

I have been seeing this video of a blonde girl getting her groove on on Facebook for a few weeks, and can't resist the urge to comment. If you haven't had the pleasure, the video is titled "Decale Gwada Blondinette" and is on youtube at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKx3UU7hwr0

When I first saw the video, I thought, that is cute - a little white girl who knows some sweet dance moves. The video kept popping up on friends' facebook pages, though, and I became curious about this fascination with the video, and about the origin of the famed video - topping 300,000 views on YouTube.

So, I decided to do a bit of Internet research. Turns out that, contrary to popular opinion, this is not dancehall, but Decalé Gwada, a type of music from the Congo, and the artist is Jessy Matador. The little girl lives in France, is nine years old, and has been attending African dance classes since she was six. She is performing the choreography from the original music video.

On Facebook, most comments I have seen are to the tune of "Damn, blondie can dance." Others imply that the moves are too sexual for such a young girl.

On some blogs, some (mostly white) folks are encouraged by the "proof" that white folks can dance, and maybe, by extension, jump. Okay. Other (mostly black) folks are disillusioned because they claim that many a black girl can do these moves, but that it is only interesting when a white person does them. Most folks, however, simply congratulate the blondinette for her moves.

Personally, I am fascinated by all the attention Elvyna (the dancing little girl) has drawn. The video is out there for all to see. The conclusions people draw from this spectacle are clearly influenced by their own standpoints. Much to be learned from the reactions and from the fact that there are so many!

2 comments:

  1. That's excellent! She's amazing!

    And I love the new look on your blog!

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  2. Thanks, Emily. Glad you like the new look. I liked the colors of the other one, but didn't like the way it wasted so much space with those wide margins on each side. Hope your semester is getting off to a good start!

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