the.com/watusi
A 1960s dance that asked nothing of your feet and everything of your hips.
means A 1960s rock-and-roll dance, often done in place with swiveling hips and waving arms, popularized by hit songs of the era.
from The name comes from the Tutsi people of central Africa — historically called the "Watusi" or "Watutsi" in older European usage, a label often tied to their reputation for height and striking dance. The dance craze borrowed the name in the early 1960s, riding on songs like the Vibrations' "The Watusi" (1961) and Chubby Checker's "(Let's Do) The Watusi." Like many dance fads of the time, it claimed an exotic-sounding African connection that was more marketing flourish than ethnographic truth.
- craze year
- Exploded into pop culture around 1962
- the move
- All shimmying arms, barely any stepping
- name origin
- Borrowed from the Tutsi people of central Africa
- chart proof
- The Orlons sang it onto the charts
- no partner
- Designed to be danced solo in crowds
watusi cattle breed — east african long-horned cattle with horns spanning up to 8 feet, native to rwanda, burundi, and uganda
the watusi 1961 song — novelty dance hit by the vibrations that reached #2 on billboard hot 100