00:00Hey guys!
00:00It's Lucy Fink.
00:01That's just who I am.
00:02And in this edition of Try Living With Lucy, I am exploring another dance style.
00:07For this week's episode, I wanted to fly across the world, metaphorically, to an entirely
00:12new continent.
00:13One that I actually physically have never set foot on.
00:16Yet.
00:17Can you guess?
00:18Africa.
00:19I've always been particularly interested in Africa and African dance style because my
00:24boyfriend's father was actually born in South Africa.
00:26And even though I know that Africa is a huge continent with so many different countries
00:31and cultures, I've been hearing stories about his upbringing for years, and I've been drawn
00:35to learning about it ever since.
00:37Today I met with Coach Cass, a fitness instructor at Ailey Extension, who teaches the Kukua African
00:42dance workout alongside her mother, Kukua.
00:45I got into it because I was literally born into it.
00:48She was teaching a class with me and broke her water.
00:50Kukua in Swahili means to be, so Kukua Fitness means to be fit.
00:54This class encompasses different regions of Africa and allows you to travel Africa without
00:59your passport through music and dance.
01:01And that's the whole mission of Kukua Fitness is to bring Africa to people and then bring
01:05people to Africa.
01:06Hello.
01:07Hi.
01:08Welcome.
01:09Nice to meet you.
01:10Nice to meet you.
01:12I'm so excited.
01:13Yes.
01:14Be excited.
01:15Time for some Kukua.
01:15We are going to Africa today.
01:17We are.
01:17We don't need your passport, no security check.
01:19We're just going.
01:20Do I need shoes?
01:20No.
01:21You don't need shoes.
01:22No passport and no shoes.
01:23Exactly.
01:24This is like the TSA PreCheck one.
01:26Exactly.
01:27Each region has specific dances to their culture and their country.
01:31We're going to go to the South African region, so I'm going to teach you a little bit of the
01:37Zulu high step.
01:38When you go to the southern region, very big movements with the legs and they lift their
01:42leg up to kick and come down.
01:44You want to bend your waist a little bit and so you go in, out, in, out, yes, in, yes.
01:51That is a core workout.
01:53Yes.
01:53If I've ever felt one.
01:55Here and here.
01:56Yeah.
01:56We're in Johannesburg right now.
01:57Yes.
01:58Yes.
01:59All right.
01:59So now I'm going to do a little bit of the West African.
02:03Round and circle.
02:04Yes.
02:04Round and circle.
02:05And up.
02:06Yes.
02:06Moving in a circle at the same time.
02:09Yes.
02:09Go Lucy.
02:10We see you.
02:10We see you.
02:11Now we're staying in the West.
02:13You're here.
02:13Bring it up.
02:15Then down.
02:16Bring it up.
02:18Then down.
02:19So these influences come from Ghana, come from Senegal.
02:23This dance specifically is called Palago.
02:24So it's a happy dance, a celebration.
02:27So right.
02:27Yep.
02:28And down.
02:29Yes.
02:29And up.
02:30And you have to bring your head up and bring it down.
02:33Down.
02:33Yes.
02:33We're going to visit Ethiopia.
02:35Okay.
02:36So our shoulders, right?
02:37This is East?
02:38This is East.
02:38Correct.
02:39With the East Africa, specifically like Ethiopia, Eritrea, they like very different shoulder
02:45movements.
02:46Even in Kenya they shake as well.
02:47Right.
02:48Left.
02:49Go.
02:49Right.
02:49Left.
02:50Yes.
02:50Right.
02:51Left.
02:52Out.
02:52Yep.
02:52But you want to move your shoulders at the same time.
02:55Out and out.
02:56Yes.
02:56Seriously?
02:56It's burning.
02:58In the northern region you do more of a belly dance and Arabic influence.
03:03We did each move slowly at first.
03:05Slowly, slowly.
03:06Bring it down.
03:07And out.
03:08Oh, that's slow.
03:08Bring it down.
03:09And out.
03:10Four.
03:11We practiced.
03:12Three.
03:12And we practiced.
03:14And then we picked up the pace double time.
03:16Right and left.
03:17Right and left.
03:18Right and left.
03:19Three.
03:20Two.
03:20To the north.
03:21To the north.
03:22Go.
03:22One.
03:22Two.
03:23Three.
03:24Single.
03:30And finally, we were ready to perform.
03:32This is not.
03:33The traditional kente cloth costs $3,000 a yard.
03:36But this is like knockoff version of course.
03:39But you wear kente.
03:40This stuff ain't cheap.
03:41When you're getting married you wear kente.
03:43Very profound cloth in Ghana.
03:45Typically people in her classes just wear comfortable workout clothes that they would wear to any other fitness studio.
03:50But you guys know me.
03:51And you know that I wanted to get into the groove.
03:53And as I learned from salsa dancing and Bollywood dancing.
03:57Looking the part can really help with that.
03:59I got a big head.
04:03I love it.
04:05Let me see.
04:05Can you move your head and we'll move?
04:06Yeah.
04:07Hey.
04:08Hey.
04:09Good to see you Lucy.
04:10Ah, ah, ah, ah.
04:13Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
04:15Practicing.
04:18Making sure the headscarf doesn't fall.
04:21All right.
04:23Go Lucy.
04:23Yes.
04:24I told you African girl inside.
04:26I am.
04:29Woohoo.
04:30Ready.
04:31In four.
04:32Three.
04:33Two.
04:33Two.
04:34Two.
04:44Two.
04:52Two.
04:53Three.
05:01Sometime.
05:02Good to see you on this.
05:19African dance seems to be the base foundation for so many of the dance styles I've been
05:24trying recently.
05:25So it was really special to take a class on the fundamentals of traditional African dance.
05:29With all African music, when you hear that bass and that drum, it just gets inside of you.
05:34And yes, she was able to follow me, but she actually had her own flavor and vibes to it.
05:39And that's what I love about everybody who comes to Te Kukwa African dance.
05:42They come in and like, oh, I'm not sure.
05:44And then as soon as that music drops, African all the way.
05:48Come back next week if you want to see my next dance in 5 Days of Dance.
05:52And in the meantime, click here to watch another video, here to subscribe to us on YouTube,
05:56and right here for my personal YouTube.
05:59Bye.
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