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Trading Virtue for Virtuosity: The Artistry of Kinshasa's Concert Danseuses

Kinshasa, capital city of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is known throughout Africa and internationally for its virtuosic musicians and dancers. Internationally famous bands such as Werrason, Koffi Olomide, and Fali Ipupa frequently pack stadiums across both Europe and Africa. This popular dance music—characterized by drum polyrhythm, electronic keyboards, layered electric guitar riffs, and harmonized vocals—is usually referred to in Congo as “musique moderne,” or in most of sub-Saharan Africa as “musica franca.” Popular bands are large (sometimes including more than twenty members) and are composed of male singers, musicians, dancers, and vocal animators known as atalakus (see White 1999). Women, save for a few exceptions, are limited to being dancers (danseuses) and occupy the lowest rung in the popular band’s hierarchy. Despite danseuses being the lowest paid band members, their dance performance is vital to live concerts in Kinshasa, as it helps attract a paying audience—one that demands a spectacle. Moreover, despite the popularity of concert dancing, danseuses are considered by many Kinois (as residents of Kinshasa are known) as women of loose morals. Herein lies another paradox, as dancing in Kinshasa is ubiquitous and considered integral to a woman’s femininity. As such, popular dance reveals a politics of appropriateness which is context dependent (Heath 1994). Up until now, scholarship has by and large privileged young men and the roles they play as producers and consumers of popular culture in Congo. Further, literature addressing Congo’s music industry, namely its musicians and singers, has largely ignored the world of female dancers, in particular danseuses. However, women are undeniably public participants in the production of popular culture, and that’s no less true of Congo today, where women set dance trends that resonate worldwide. Popular dance, therefore, reveals a context in which women hold a visible, albeit largely unacknowledged, role as culture creators. One of the ways these trends are being set on a world stage is through the Internet, in particular on YouTube. Around the world, you can access YouTube videos of dance steps from Kinshasa, as well as videos of danseuse’s recent performances (see sidebar, p. 51). There is a sense in which Kinshasa’s concert dancers have become important cultural gatekeepers for Congolese living abroad who wish to keep abreast of the latest dance trends (Braun 2012). Some, like Cuisse de Poulet (a danseuse stage name that literally translates as “Chicken Thigh”), are aware of how far their influence has reached: