Dhaanto!

Living in Seattle my whole life I have never been to Somalia but I hopefully wish someday I’ll go visit it. Last year was one of first times I danced for Somali culture. I never even knew how to do the Dhaanto until one day I met a girl who works for the Somali community center and she told me about what they do and their events and asked me if I was interested and I was at the time because I have never did a Somali dance before so she gave me her contact info and told me that she will contact me also when their will be events and rehearsal the first day when I went there I was really shy because I didn’t know a thing till she told me not to worry that’s why this is rehearsals. After a few weeks I got the hang of it and we finally performed in front of a live audience. I was literally shaking, the only thing that was running through my mind the whole time was “am I gonna mess up” but the audience loved it and appreciated our hard work. In order for you to do this dance you will need lots of practice. It was actually really exciting and fun and as months went by dancing events kept coming but it was like everytime we practiced we would become better each and every time. Dhaanto is a folk dance with Somali music blasting with high beats making you feel like you want to jump of top of a speeding car. There are many good artists when it comes to Dhaanto music just like regular songs. If you’ve never seen a Somali cultural dance you should go see one live or even try it out and see if you are able to get the steps to each of the parts.The Dhaanto is played at nearly ever festive celebration whether it’s for weddings, carnivals, Somali Independence Day, or Culture day at school. Like any other cultural dances it’s going to be hard at first but then you will practice and practice makes perfect!