What is the Amapiano Dance?

South Africa's amapiano club and street dance idiom, built on fast bacardi legwork and low crouching moves such as the pouncing cat, spread globally through short-form video challenges.

What tempo is the Amapiano Dance danced at?

The Amapiano Dance is typically danced at 108-118 BPM.

Dance History›Afro-Diaspora Popular Dance›Amapiano Dance

Afro-Diaspora Popular DanceAFP-AMP

Amapiano Dance

Q: Where did the Amapiano Dance originate?

The Amapiano Dance originated in South Africa, in Gauteng townships including Atteridgeville and Pretoria, Soweto, Alexandra, Katlehong and Vosloorus in 2016.

Q: What time signature is the Amapiano Dance danced in?

The Amapiano Dance is danced in 4/4 house pulse organised around the log drum's bending sub-bass, off-beat shakers and long percussive builds.

Q: What is the character of the Amapiano Dance?

The Amapiano Dance is characterized as loose above, intricate below; relaxed torso and shoulders over fast, precise, low-slung footwork.

Also known as: Yanos dance, Piano dance, Amapiano moves

OriginSouth Africa, in Gauteng townships including Atteridgeville and Pretoria, Soweto, Alexandra, Katlehong and Vosloorus

Era2016–Present

Rhythm4/4 house pulse organised around the log drum's bending sub-bass, off-beat shakers and long percussive builds

Tempo108-118 BPM

CharacterLoose above, intricate below; relaxed torso and shoulders over fast, precise, low-slung footwork

History & Cultural Context

Amapiano emerged in South African townships around 2016, with its exact birthplace contested between Pretoria, Soweto, Alexandra, Katlehong and Vosloorus, and its dance culture is inseparable from the music. The movement vocabulary draws heavily on bacardi, the Pretoria house idiom pioneered in Atteridgeville by DJ Spoko, born Marvin Ramalepe and died on 14 March 2018, whose martial snares and wobbling synths underpinned DJ Mujava's 2008 'Township Funk'. Bacardi dance is built from intricate, rapid legwork with subtle hip and glute isolations, and is frequently and wrongly described as an amapiano subgenre when it in fact predates the sound. Amapiano added its own signatures, notably the pouncing cat, a low crouching prowl. The idiom went global through social video: on 11 October 2020 five Tshwane teenagers, Tshegofatso Maepa, Katlego Mohlahlo, Kgomotso Aphane, Oratilwe Mokwatlo and Lebogang Motalane, filmed themselves dancing to Mapara A Jazz's 'John Vuli Gate' at a Shell service station while celebrating a birthday, launching the #JohnVuliGateChallenge across Southern Africa. Kamo Mphela, born 1999 and widely called the queen of amapiano, built a recording career from dancing, and Tyla's 2023 'Water' carried bacardi-derived legwork to a worldwide audience.

Cultural Significance

Amapiano dance is township social culture first: it belongs to street corners, taverns, school grounds and yanos parties in Gauteng before it belongs to any stage. Much of its global spread has come through young Black South African women whose choreography travels far further than their names do.

Characteristic Movement & Technique

Deep knee bend with the weight low, driving fast alternating footwork, ankle flicks and heel drags while the pelvis and glutes isolate in small, rapid pulses. The pouncing cat drops the dancer into a wide crouch that stalks forward on the log drum.

Partnering Dynamics

Danced solo or in synchronised lines and small groups facing a camera or a circle. There is no lead-follow structure; unison and mirroring do the social work that partnering does elsewhere.

Competitive Context

Informal challenge culture dominates, with hashtag challenges, club dance-offs and street competitions rather than formal adjudication. Success is measured in circulation and in bookings for music videos and live shows.

Regional Variations

Pretoria and Atteridgeville favour the sharper, faster bacardi legwork; Soweto and East Rand styling is looser and more torso-led; Durban dancers bring gqom and gwara gwara inflections into the same music.

Common Misconceptions

Bacardi is not a subgenre of amapiano and did not begin in the 2020s; it is an older Pretoria house idiom that amapiano dance borrowed from. Amapiano dance is also not traditional South African dance and should not be conflated with Zulu, Xhosa or Sotho ceremonial forms, nor were the 'John Vuli Gate' and 'Water' routines invented by the international users who later performed them.

Peak Popularity

2020s

92% estimated global awareness

Signature Figures

Kamo Mphela
DJ Spoko (Marvin Ramalepe)
Kabza De Small
DJ Maphorisa
Tyla

Notable Codifiers

Kamo Mphela
DJ Spoko (Marvin Ramalepe)

Amapiano Dance Music & Tempo

Drawn from 20 Amapiano Dance tracks in the LODance music library.

Example tracks at practice tempo

Shesha — De Mthuda & Njelic115 BPM
Obrigado — Da Muziqal Chef, Murumba Pitch & Kabza De Small111 BPM
Asibe Happy — Kabza De Small, DJ Maphorisa & Ami Faku113 BPM
Numba — Kabza De Small, DJ Maphorisa, Young Stunna, Sir Trill & Tyler ICU113 BPM
Moya Wasendulo — MaWhoo, DJ Maphorisa & Kabza De Small113 BPM
Dalie — Kamo Mphela, Tyler ICU, Khalil Harrison & Baby S.O.N113 BPM

Browse & play all 20 Amapiano Dancetracks in the Music Library →

What to Wear

Attire guidance for Amapiano Dance and other Afro-Diaspora Popular Dance dances. Each card below is sized to the moment — class, practice, social, or competition — because the wardrobe shifts as the stakes do.

Reading the cards

Class — group instruction; comfort first.

Practice — rehearsal; dress like the dance.

Social — public dance floor; smart casual to formal.

Competition — judged events; rule-bound costume.

In Class

These are club and street dances, so ordinary clothes are correct — joggers or leggings, a tee, layers you can shed, and clean indoor sneakers, since afrobeats, amapiano and their relatives are grounded in the feet, ankles and knees. Some teachers work sections barefoot, especially for more traditional vocabulary; ask rather than assume. Nothing restrictive at the waist or hips, because most of the vocabulary lives there. This is not a costume genre: printed cloth is real clothing and real ceremonial dress in the cultures it comes from, and wearing it as a novelty costume to a beginner class reads badly.

Social Dancing

Parties, clubs, weddings and family occasions are where these dances actually live, and you wear what you'd wear out — the dance is not separate from the night. The only practical concern is shoes you can move in for hours, since these are stamina dances and you will be up much longer than you plan. For an occasion where guests do dress up, dress for the occasion, not for the dance.

Competition

There are battles and competitions — regional Afro dance battles across Europe and Africa, and Afro categories inside broader street-dance events — but no assigned costume: dancers compete in their own street looks or crew kit, and personal style is read as part of the performance. Practical rules are the same as any battle: a visible number, shoes that won't mark the stage, and nothing that can come loose mid-round. Choreography showcases and music-video work do use styled looks, chosen by the choreographer or artist rather than by convention.

Shoes

Clean, flexible, indoor-only sneakers. Afrobeats, amapiano and the Ghanaian and Nigerian vocabulary that feeds them are driven from the ankles, knees and ball of the foot, so a thin sole you can feel the floor through beats a cushioned running shoe, which flattens the bounce and grabs on pivots. Some teachers work sections barefoot, particularly with more traditional material — ask what the class expects rather than guessing. Nothing tight or high through the ankle, since a lot of the footwork happens right there.

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In Practice

Training looks like class, with one real addition: film yourself. This is a movement culture that lives on video, and the reason to wear something fitted at the waist is so you can see whether the isolation is actually happening or whether the fabric is doing it for you. Knee sleeves are worth it if you are drilling grounded, bent-knee material for hours. The rest of practice is listening — the steps are built on specific songs and specific drums, not on counts.

Common Pitfalls

✗Turning up in African print bought as a costume for a beginner class — these are real garments with real meaning, and worn as novelty it reads as caricature.
✗Cushioned running shoes, which deaden the bounce these styles are built on.
✗Stiff jeans or a restrictive waistband; nearly all the vocabulary passes through the hips and waist.
✗Outdoor shoes on a studio floor.
✗Over-dressing for a party or wedding where the dance itself is the point and comfort matters more than the outfit.

Price Range

Budget: Effectively nothing — clothes you own plus a flexible indoor sneaker at roughly $60–100. This is one of the cheapest genres to enter.
Mid: A second indoor pair to rotate, knee sleeves $20–40, technical fabric for high-sweat classes.
Premium: There is no premium gear tier. The money worth spending goes to workshops and intensives with the choreographers and communities who originated the steps — which is also where credit belongs.

Key Terms

Indoor-only sneakers: A pair kept for the studio. Street grit destroys marley and most studios enforce this at the door.
Ankara / kente: Real clothing and, in kente’s case, cloth with specific ceremonial meaning. Worn meaningfully in performance; not a class costume and not a novelty.
Street look: What dancers actually compete and perform in — personal clothing, read as part of the performance rather than assigned by an organiser.
Crew kit: Coordinated clothing worn by a group at battles and showcases; identity, not uniform, and never required of a solo entrant.
Knee sleeve: Compression sleeve worn for extended grounded work — the only piece of protective gear this genre commonly needs.

Quick Tips

•Suede-soled shoes allow controlled sliding and pivoting — essential for most partner dances.
•Avoid rubber soles on dance floors; they grip too much and can cause knee injuries.
•Bring a separate pair of clean shoes for the dance floor to keep it in good condition.

Evolution of Dance Attire →Shop the look · Gear Guide →

Sources & Further Reading

Cultural & Historical Context

Amapiano Dance emerged from South Africa, in Gauteng townships including Atteridgeville and Pretoria, Soweto, Alexandra, Katlehong and Vosloorus during 2016—present day. Understanding the cultural roots, musical traditions, and social circumstances of this era enriches appreciation for the dance's characteristics and significance.

Formative Influences

Codifiers & Standardizers:

Kamo Mphela, DJ Spoko (Marvin Ramalepe)

Signature Movement Vocabulary:

Kamo Mphela, DJ Spoko (Marvin Ramalepe), Kabza De Small, DJ Maphorisa, Tyla

Primary Source Documents

The Library of Dance contains public-domain primary sources for dance history. Copyrighted modern syllabi are indexed with purchase links to their respective copyright owners. Search by dance name or codifier to discover primary source documents.

Last reviewed: September 2026 — This dance profile synthesizes historical research, cultural documentation, and contemporary practice knowledge to provide authoritative context.