Contemporary Southern African Wedding Dances (Masteps)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post presents comments about and eight examples of contemporary Southern African wedding dances. These wedding dances sometimes referred to as "masteps" ("ma steps") or "steps".

This post also includes a video of this form of wedding dance being performed at a Congolese wedding.

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

****
EDITOR'S NOTE ABOUT ADDING COMMENTS ON THIS BLOG
With considerable regret, I have disabled the comment feature on this blog (and on my other blogs except for https://pancocojams.blogspot.com, because of the large number of spam comments that I received on those blogs.

Comments for those blogs can be sent to my email address azizip17 dot com at yahoo dot com for possible inclusion in a specific post on those blogs.

****
DESCRIPTION OF THESE WEDDING DANCES
There are numerous videos of contemporary Southern African wedding dances, from 2007 to date. However, I've not found any internet article about those dances. This comment serves as an introduction to these dances albeit from someone who has never seen them in person. It's my hope that persons who are familiar with and knowledgeable about these dances publish comments to this post which correct or add to my statements and also write other articles about these dances.

The choreographed, rehearsed line dances which are the focus of this post are performed by a specific group of males & females at an indoor or outdoor wedding reception. The group performing this type of wedding dance may be composed of the bridesmaids & groomsmen, along with or without the bride and groom. Or the group may be a coed dance crew which is hired to perform at that wedding reception.

"Mastep" ("ma steps") * and "steps" are referents that are used in several YouTube videos of these types of wedding dances. However, most videos of those dances don't refer to those dances by name. My guess is that "masteps" (ma steps) is English for "my steps", meaning "my (dance) moves."

It appears that many commenters to videos of these African wedding dances most closely associate them with the nation of Zimbabwe. In addition to Zimbabwe, the other Southern African nations which have what appears to be a relatively new tradition of masteps at wedding receptions are - in alphabetical order- Botswana, Malawi, South Africa, and Zambia.

Masteps African wedding dances are performed to moderately uptempo recorded songs. The songs usually have been recorded by an African singer, but the singer need not be from the same African nation that the bride & groom are from. There doesn't appear to be one standard way of performing these choreographed dance routines. However, a standard feature of every masteps routine that I've watched on YouTube is that there are two, usually vertical, lines with one line being for the males and one line being for the females. Masteps routines can be performed as a processional "entrance" [to the reception] dances, as performances during the reception, and/or as a recessional "exit dances" for the wedding court. The dance routines themselves appear to me to consists of dance steps from the Rhumba, the cha cha cha, traditional dances from the bride and/or groom's nation or ethnic group, as well as contemporary Cngolese social dance steps, and other contemporary social dance moves.

Unlike the Electric Slide or The Wooble, to cite two popular wedding reception dances in the United States & in other countries, masteps aren't an audience participatory dance. Some wedding guests might dance on the sideline, but they never join in the performance of that mastep dance. Furthermore, from the numerous videos of these African wedding line dances that I've watched, it seems that persons watching performances of these dances hardily ever clap or sing along with the record, although some persons might do ulalations and some might otherwise loudly exclaim their appreciation of the dance, although I don't get the sense that those exclamations usually reach the level of the "shout outs" recognitions of individual performers by name & yelled encouragements that are given at many African American talent shows & step shows. It seems that the standard practice is for other attendees at the wedding to remain in their seats, watching the performance, and taking photographs or videos. And unlike most Nigerian and some other West African weddings, no money is sprayed on [showered on the heads of] the dancers.*

**Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-african-custom-of-spraying-money.html for information about "spraying money".

****
VIDEO WITH SELECTED COMMENTS
Zim Wedding dance-Ma steps-Munyaradzi and Tatenda



draino27, Uploaded on Jun 18, 2007

Tatenda Matutu and Munyaradzi Maraura's Wedding Aug 12 2006.Dancing to Muntuza(2bobo) by Malaika
-snip-
"Zim" is a colloquial referent for "Zimbabwe"

Here are some comments from this video's viewer comment thread http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZV6FgKuEks
ormgm, 2009
forevaalwaize, 2007
Man we had a wedding august of 2007 but guess we weren't searching right coz we never found these masteps! Groom asi ndivo vanga vari coach kani?
**
Samantha Mapfumo, 2007
we copied tha dance moves frm these steps fr this zimbabwean wedding, n everyone liked them.. thanks fr the insiparation... happy new year!! ma steps aya akapenga!

**
ormgm, 2009
Ya this is more like it..Southern africa wedding dance--Zim,Botswana, South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho..Same style..!

**
schurch777, 2009
I need info.. of the details of the guy hu teaches ma steps please!

**
MsAfricanbeauty1, 2010
Zim weddings are almost like Zed oneS! i love this video. whats the name of the song and who is it by?
-snip-
"Zed" is a colloquial referent for Zambia.
**
murambinda23, 2010
wow, i like mmm makagona
-snip-
Another commenter mentioned "magona steps" in reference to this video. I wonder if "makagona" or "magona" is a type of Zimbabwean dance.
**
msfunkychiken, 2010
Man me and my friend watch your video ALLLLL the time....ma steps are just BEAUTIFULL i will be using them for inspiration in the future!!

****
OTHER FEATURED VIDEOS
(These videos are presented in to showcase various styles of contemporary wedding dances. No order of preference is intending by the numbers that are assigned to these videos.)

Example #1: Zambian Wedding Party



beconcerned, Uploaded on Dec 3, 2007

The WILD entry dance at a Zambian Wedding reception, with a bridal party comprised of 11 Zambians and 1 American, dancing to Congolese rumba music

****
Example #2: Perpe & Paida Wedding Dance 1 [Zimbabwe]



Shepherd Mutyora, Uploaded on Jan 8, 2012

Wedding reception dance at Rainbow Towers Hotel, Harare, Zimbabwe
-snip-
Notice at around 2:40 in this video each couple takes a turn dancing down the aisle formed in between the male line & the female line in a manner that was popularized by the television dance show "Soul Train".

****
Example #3: Wedding exit dance



Samuellyc, Uploaded on Oct 19, 2011

Bevis and Mutale's exit dance at their incredible wedding in Zambia. For all those asking the track is Grippe Aviaire by DJ Lewis.

****
Example #4: Joyo's Wedding Anniversary Dance (Part 1)



AubreyJoyo Uploaded on Jul 15, 2011

20th Wedding Anniversary Mr Austin & Mrs Kate joyo, Hilton Garden Inn, USA. Malawian Wedding.

****
Example #5: sera and clive's wedding.wmv


maggiesoblessed gwatirisa, Uploaded on Jul 14, 2011

my sisters's wedding
-snip-
This is a Zimbabwean wedding that was held in the UK

****
Example #6: U gotta love a Botswana wedding!!! part 1



Buzzstylo, Uploaded on Sep 11, 2010

A terrific dance ya baetsana in Mangana, Tutume, Botswana!

****
Example #7: African Wedding Botswana serudi phuu marrying Robin Nelson

.

rudy80ish, Published on Mar 15, 2012

****
RELATED VIDEO
Note: Although various commenters attribute some of these dance steps to the Congo, this is the only YouTube video that I've found to date of a "mastep" dance routine at a Congolese wedding.

Wedding entrance African style.mp4



beavadvideo, Uploaded on Apr 25, 2010
African wedding filmed by Beavad Video Productions (www.beavadvideo.com)
-snip-
Here's a comment written in response to several commenters who wrote that this was a Zimbabwean wedding:

Annalise Carter, 2011
I went 2 the wedding @mumbi42 is right it is congalese and it's in KENYA!

****
RELATED LINKS
Click this link to a post on Zambian wedding dances: http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/02/wedding-dances-zambia.html. Pancocojams is my other cultural blog.

Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mluSE0EGsv8 African Wedding- dancers, Kyangwali Settlement, Uganda for a video of a Ugandan wedding dance which is quite similar to masteps. However, this dance differs from masteps in that the dancers are all female. Furthermore, unlike mastep dances, this group aren't dancing to recorded music, but the music for the dance comes from the dancers and the drummers.

****
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND THANKS
Congratulations to all those whose weddings were featured in these videos. Thanks to all the choreographers and dancers featured in these videos. My thanks also to the producers of these videos and their publishers on YouTube.

Thanks for visiting zumalayah.

Zumalayah showcases videos of dances & singing games done in circles or in lines, and other movement performance arts from African American culture, from African cultures, and from other cultures of the African Diaspora.

Visitor comments are welcome.