Fast-pace dance takes Ivory Coast’s working-class streets by storm

Biama, an acrobatic street dance originating from Abidjan, Ivory Coast, has rapidly become a cultural phenomenon among the nation's youth, evolving from the popular coupe-decale dance music.

Weekly gatherings in Yopougon, led by organizers called biamasseurs, showcase this high-energy dance form, drawing large audiences and leveraging social media to amplify performers' popularity.

The dance, now a thriving economic activity, has created opportunities for dancers to earn a livelihood, further supported by its media presence and the recording of numerous artists in the genre.

ABIDJAN, Sept 11 — On the streets of a working-class Abidjan neighbourhood, hundreds of young people gather every week after class to dance the biama, a high-tempo combo of acrobatic twists, frenetic footwork and funny facial expressions.

The craze has gripped Ivory Coast — where nearly two thirds of the population is aged under 25 — since it evolved from the country’s popular coupe-decale dance music a few years ago.

In Yopougon, the district where it all began, so-called biamasseurs organise the outdoor events where one DJ after another takes to the stage, which is little more than a vacant sandy piece of ground with some plastic chairs for spectators.

From 5.00pm, boys and girls in their teens don colourful sportswear of jogging pants and T-shirts to perform the high-energy moves of the quick-pace street dance.

Dancers take part for free, while it costs between 1,000 and 2,000 CFA francs (between RM6.90 and RM14.20) to watch.

“Biama means fun” in Nouchi, Ivorian slang, 29-year-old Junior Koffi, known as “God of War”, who organises the Wednesday evening events, told AFP.

“It’s danced to different rhythms, from zouk to zouglou and afrobeat,” he said.

The music is often a mix of styles created by arrangers, who take their inspiration from the dance steps.

“It’s quite a funny dance,” said “le Pere Rogodogo” (“Father Rogodogo”), who was one of the first organisers of the regular street gatherings.

Young people “let their imagination run free to create their moves, dance with their eyes, pull faces”, he added.

Biama was created by accident in 2021 in a video gaming room when a jubilant young man jumped up and started improvising dance moves to celebrate winning some money, filmed by his friend.

Today, Karl Guei, whose nickname is “Kalomaman”, has two million TikTok subscribers, according to culture journalist Toussaint Konan.

Since then, the dance has taken Abidjan, the country’s economic capital, and other cities by storm, with weekly events undeterred by the risk of the late-night noise disturbing nearby residents, who sometimes do complain.

They serve as a springboard for beginners and a showcase for the more accomplished whose rising fame and popularity is amplified by social media.

Fans join Parfait Fidele Kposser, known as “Agbalais le Mystique” (“Agbalais the Mystic”) for dance practice in the street at the weekend.

On an August afternoon, four boys aged between 15 and 17, who call themselves the Daltons, worked on choreography with him as locals watched, some stopping to film.

With the tips they earn dancing in the evening they buy clothes and school supplies in a city with a cost of living that is one of the highest in Africa.

Dancing as a job, career

Videos by dancer and singer Dydy Yeman, one of the movement’s leading figures, have racked up tens of millions of views on YouTube.

The artist has already performed outside of Ivory Coast, both elsewhere in Africa and Europe.

But his beginnings were humble and he expressed “pride” in coming from Yopougon, the birthplace of biama, before going on stage in front of thousands at a festival in the fashionable neighbourhood of Cocody, where entry prices were considerably higher at between 10,000 and 15,000 CFA francs.

The crowd, wearing fluorescent bracelets, their faces and T-shirts covered in paint, followed the steps led by Yeman and sang along to the lyrics of his songs.

“Even when I’m sitting, my legs start moving,” Jean, 22, a first-year student, said.

Curiosity prompted Maimouna Tinta, 19, who has just graduated from high school, to come “to see if what’s on TV is true”.

Biama even has its own television programme, a news bulletin about the dance broadcast on a private channel.

Sociologist Stephane Babo said the trend “fully deserves to exist” and may “last over time”.

“Beyond the passion... there’s a whole economic side to it,” notably by creating jobs and even careers, he added.

“The dancers, during their performance, are paid after all,” he said, also pointing to other associated businesses such as the sale of clothing.

Arranger Elie-Michel Assie Diou sees “a market” in the biama movement’s success.

He said his studio had recorded more than around 50 artists in just a few years. — AFP

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Biama 是一种起源于科特迪瓦阿比让的杂技街舞，它迅速成为该国年轻人中的一种文化现象，由流行的 coupe-decale 舞曲发展而来。

在约普贡，由被称为“biamasseurs”的组织者带领的每周聚会，都会展示这种充满活力的舞蹈形式，吸引大量观众，并利用社交媒体来提高表演者的知名度。

如今，舞蹈已成为一项蓬勃发展的经济活动，为舞者创造了谋生的机会，媒体的报道和众多该类型艺术家的录音也进一步促进了这一发展。

阿比让，9 月 11 日——在阿比让一个工人阶级社区的街道上，每周放学后，数百名年轻人聚集在一起跳比阿玛舞，这是一种节奏很快的舞蹈，融合了杂技般的扭转动作、狂热的脚步动作和滑稽的面部表情。

这种风潮席卷了科特迪瓦——该国近三分之二的人口年龄在 25 岁以下——它源于几年前科特迪瓦流行的 coupe-decale 舞曲。

在这一切的发源地约普贡区，所谓的“biamasseurs”（街头艺人）组织户外活动，一个又一个DJ轮番上台表演，而舞台只不过是一片空旷的沙地，上面摆放着一些供观众使用的塑料椅子。

下午 5 点，十几岁的男孩女孩们穿上色彩鲜艳的运动服，如运动裤和 T 恤，表演节奏明快、充满活力的街舞动作。

舞者可以免费参加，而观看则需要花费 1,000 至 2,000 非洲金融共同体法郎（约合 6.90 至 14.20 马来西亚林吉特）。

“Biama 在科特迪瓦俚语 Nouchi 中是乐趣的意思，” 29 岁的 Junior Koffi（绰号“战神”）告诉法新社，他负责组织周三晚上的活动。

他说：“这种舞蹈融合了不同的节奏，从祖克舞到祖格鲁舞，再到非洲节奏舞。”

音乐通常是编曲者根据舞蹈动作从中汲取灵感而创作的多种风格的混合体。

“这是一种很有趣的舞蹈，” “罗戈多戈神父”（le Pere Rogodogo）说道，他是最早组织定期街头集会的组织者之一。

他补充说，年轻人“可以尽情发挥想象力来创造自己的动作，用眼神跳舞，做鬼脸”。

Biama 的诞生纯属偶然，2021 年，在一家电子游戏室里，一位兴高采烈的年轻人跳起来即兴跳舞庆祝赢钱，他的朋友拍下了这一幕。

据文化记者图森·科南 (Toussaint Konan) 称，如今，绰号“Kalomaman”的卡尔·盖伊 (Karl Guei) 在 TikTok 上拥有 200 万订阅者。

从那时起，这种舞蹈风靡了该国的经济首都阿比让和其他城市，每周的活动都丝毫没有因为深夜噪音扰乱附近居民的风险而受到阻碍，尽管居民有时确实会抱怨。

它们既是初学者的跳板，也是成就更高的人的展示平台，他们的名气和人气通过社交媒体得到放大。

周末，粉丝们会和被称为“神秘的阿格巴莱斯”（Agbalais le Mystique）的帕尔费·菲德尔·克波瑟（Parfait Fidele Kposser）一起在街头练习舞蹈。

八月的一个下午，四个年龄在 15 到 17 岁之间的男孩，自称达尔顿兄弟，和他一起练习舞蹈编排，当地居民在一旁观看，有些人还停下来拍摄。

她们靠晚上跳舞挣的小费，在生活成本位居非洲最高城市之一的城市里，购买衣服和学习用品。

舞蹈作为一种职业

舞蹈家兼歌手迪迪·耶曼是该运动的领军人物之一，她的视频在 YouTube 上获得了数千万的点击量。

这位艺术家此前已在科特迪瓦以外的非洲其他地区和欧洲进行过演出。

但他的出身卑微，他曾为自己来自比亚玛的故乡约普贡而感到“自豪”。之后，他在时尚街区科科迪的一个节日上登台，在数千名观众面前表演，那里的入场费要高得多，在 10,000 到 15,000 非洲金融共同体法郎之间。

人群戴着荧光手环，脸上和T恤上涂满了颜料，跟随叶曼的步伐，并跟着他的歌曲一起唱歌。

“即使我坐着，我的腿也会开始动，”22岁的大一新生吉恩说道。

19 岁的 Maimouna Tinta 刚刚高中毕业，出于好奇，她前来“看看电视上说的是不是真的”。

比亚玛甚至还有自己的电视节目，一个在私人频道播出的关于这种舞蹈的新闻简报。

社会学家斯蒂芬·巴博表示，这种趋势“完全有其存在的理由”，并且可能会“随着时间的推移而持续下去”。

“除了热情之外……它还有着巨大的经济效益，”他补充道，尤其体现在创造就业机会甚至职业发展方面。

“毕竟，舞者在表演期间是有报酬的，”他说道，同时还提到了其他相关业务，例如服装销售。

编曲家 Elie-Michel Assie Diou 认为 biama 运动的成功具有“市场潜力”。

他说，他的工作室在短短几年内就为大约50位艺术家录制了唱片。——法新社

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