Sokkie is a style of dance that is unique to Southern Africa and popular mostly with

Afrikaners Afrikaners () are a Southern African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch people, Dutch Settler colonialism, settlers who first arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in Free Burghers in the Dutch Cape Colony, 1652.Entry: Cape Colony. '' ...

. It is also a type of ballroom dance.

Sokkie dance

Sokkie dance is a style of

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives fro ...

ballroom dance Ballroom dance is a set of European partner dances, which are enjoyed both socially and competitively around the world, mostly because of its performance and entertainment aspects. Ballroom dancing is also widely enjoyed on stage, film, and te ...

with a partner. It is also referred to in

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

as "langarm", "sakkie-sakkie", "kotteljons" and "Water-pomp". Similarly to the U.S. '

Sock Hop A sock hop or sox hop, often also called a record hop or just a hop, was an informal (but officially organized) dance event for teenagers in mid-20th-century North America, featuring popular music. The term sock hop came about because dancers wer ...

', ''sokkie'', meaning '

sock A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the feet and often covering the ankle or some part of the Calf (leg), calf. Some types of shoes or boots are typically worn over socks. In ancient times, socks were made from leather or matted animal hair. ...

' in Afrikaans, refers to the way

young people Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood (Maturity (psychological), maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as bei ...

dance sokkie in their socks and often

barefoot Being barefoot is the state of not wearing any footwear. There are health benefits and some risks associated with going barefoot. Shoes, while they offer protection, can limit the flexibility, strength, and mobility of the foot and can lead ...

. Sokkie dancers in

nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...

s mostly wear shoes and dress

smart casual Smart casual is an ambiguously defined Western dress code that is generally considered casual wear but with :wiktionary:smart#English, smart (in the sense of "well dressed") components of a proper lounge suit from traditional informal wear. For ...

. By some, sokkie is viewed as awkwardly intimate, slightly sweaty and odd. Loopdans, two-step, swing,

boogie Boogie is a repetition (music), repetitive, swung note, swung note or shuffle rhythm,Burrows, Terry (1995). ''Play Country Guitar'', p.42. Dorling Kindersley Limited, London. . groove (music), "groove" or pattern used in blues which was origina ...

, social foxtrot or quickstep steps, are often danced together in sokkie. A boerewals, which is a

viennese waltz Viennese waltz () is a genre of ballroom dance. At least four different meanings are recognized. In the historically first sense, the name may refer to several versions of the waltz, including the earliest waltzes done in ballroom dancing, dance ...

is also danced as sokkie. Sokkie is not only danced to sokkie music, but can be danced to many music genres, for example

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

and

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

. The dance "Sokkie Sokkie" originated in Southern Africa from the Afrikaner trekkers.

Sokkie music

The emergence of a particular style of commercialised sokkie-music in recent years is of particular note. Examples of artists are Kurt Darren, Nicholis Louw, and Juanita du Plessis, among many others. A favourite method of sokkie creating music or songs is to take successful English songs and translate them into Afrikaans. Or use the tune of another successful song for their song. Nicholis Louw even used the ringtone Blue Horizon from a Sony Ericsson cellphone for the tune of his hit song - Rock Daai Lyfie. Other English songs could also be included so that people could dance solo as well.

References

{{Reflist, refs= {{cite web , url=http://www.absolutedance.co.za/sokkie.htm , title=Welcome to Absolute Dance !! , access-date=2010-06-17 , url-status=dead , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101009120334/http://www.absolutedance.co.za/sokkie.htm , archive-date=2010-10-09 {{cite web , url=http://dance2evolution.co.za/sokkie___social_dance.html , title=Sokkie | Social Dance , access-date=2010-06-17 , url-status=dead , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110509012355/http://dance2evolution.co.za/sokkie___social_dance.html , archive-date=2011-05-09 {{Cite web, url=http://www.transculturations.org/entering-the-danskraal-its-only-about-the-one-thing/, archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100729032314/http://www.transculturations.org/entering-the-danskraal-its-only-about-the-one-thing/, archive-date = 2010-07-29, title = FUE Hair Transplant London, work=Transculturations {{cite web, url=http://sites.google.com/site/braaiandpotjie/Home/sokkie-dance/what-is-a-sokkie, title=What is a Sokkie - The Braai (BBQ) and Potjie Way of Life, website=Sites.google.com, accessdate=26 May 2018 Society of South Africa African dances Partner dance Social dance