The sway of the hips, the wings beneath my feet, twisting and turning of heads in the most flexible way the unbelievable energy exerted from the legs to seem as though one is flying in the air, and not to mention the shaking and twisting of the waist causing people to wonder if one was born without bones, all this make the African dance the most intense captivating, rhapsodic, sensual, spiritual and indeed formidable to say the least.

The music and dance ignite fire that can never be put off, and become so contagious like a rippling effect. African dances heal emotional, mental and physical problems, they bring happiness, joy, and release the stress of our day-to-day life

There is similarity in the African dances from East, West, South or North Africa. Dances in Africa are not only for entertainment, people danced to honor ancestors, to thank the spirits for rain and good harvest, dances to honor the dead, for initiation ceremonies, planting time and also to honor the leader of a community or a village.

The people of East Africa celebrate and mourn in song and dance. Different countries in East Africa have many ethnic groups or tribes but share the same culture especially when it comes to dance and the meaning behind the dances, there are different dances for different occasions, for example in Kenya, the Waswahili dance chakacha for weddings and this normally involves the twisting and shaking of the hips and waist, The Wataita people of Kenya dance kishawi to remove and chase evil spirits, and the Akamba dance kilume which is mostly characterized by the shaking of the shoulders, for harvest time and to honor the ancestors.

The Amhara people of Ethiopia dance Esikatai for wedding ceremonies, the Oromo of Ethiopia dances shigoyea, while in Uganda the Buganda danced a dance, which particularly involves shaking of the lower body especially the hips to appease the spirit and also during a celebration after a major event.

The songs and dances portray a strong message of love and life, trials and challenges that a community or an individual faces. African dances are origin of many Asian and European dances, around the world every music and dance borrows from Africa. Many musical instrument are used or accompany the music and dances, few of the instrument include drums( kungas, djembes e.g.) shekere or shakers, thumb piano, kora or guitar, kayamba and marimba this belonging to the family of shakers. Costumes and masks were also used to enhance the dance and create uniformity and rhythm .Let us never forget music and dance is the food for the soul.