THE ANC, known to exploit popular trends during election campaigns, is at it again, with its leaders “rocking” like teenagers to hip-hop-inspired dance moves.
Its “serious” leaders, such as Cyril Ramaphosa, Gwede Mantashe and President Jacob Zuma, pictured, have been doing the “dab” dance on their campaign trail.
Videos of the ANC leaders doing the dab dance in front of the crowds have flooded social media.
The dab is a dance in which the dancer simultaneously drops the head while raising an arm and the elbow in a gesture that has been noted to resemble sneezing.
In 2015, the dab rose to national prominence in the US.
US-based XXL Magazine reported in August 2015: “What started as a regional down South is quickly becoming a masterful manoeuvre in clubs and on street corners. It’s called dabbin’.”
ANC spokesman Zizi Kodwa laughingly told The Star’s sister paper, The Mercury, that the dance was their signature move for this election.
He said the party was known for keeping up with the trends, especially during election campaigns, and this included designer leather jackets with the party’s logo and colours, branded Mini Coopers and motorcycles, and picking the most popular dance songs to play at rallies.
Kodwa said the party had generally always been a youthful organisation, and popular trends had always been part of its campaign and strategies.
Asked if the ANC was “dabbing for votes”, Kodwa said the dance was not meant to win more votes but was intended to keep the party relevant and part of popular culture.
Political analyst Somadoda Fikeni said being part of a popular trend always helped parties to identify with the youth.
He said popular movements could possibly translate into votes because the youth would feel that the party wanted to speak directly to them.