As the popularity of Amapiano continues to spread, we check in with Tom London, Soweto’s finest founder and choreographer to get his thoughts on the state of the dance.
AFROCONEX: Tom thank you for taking the time to chat with AfroConex. Can you describe what Soweto’s Finest is for those who don’t know ?
TOM: Soweto’s Finest is an entertainment hub that has dancers, choreographers, musicians, djs and event coordinators. We host our own events, we run a dance studio, and we are also a recording company. It initially started off as just dancers, by Tom London and Osande Luchan. It started with dancers and a choreographer, then eventually it grew into an entertainment.
AFROCONEX: What impact has Sowetos Finest had on South African dance culture?
TOM: The question should be what is South African dance without Soweto’s finest, because our impact is crazy. We were the first to have a dance studio, and we were the first dance group to record our own music and go platinum; double platinum actually. We were also the first to go overseas and headline our own shows. We went overseas before Black Coffee went overseas and we have been on every award ceremony show in the country; from Metro FM, Summer Awards, Amapiano Awards and the list goes on. The impact is quite crazy, many people started dancing and were motivated by Soweto’s Finest. We are always thinking of ways to raise the bar, do things differently and open different conversations beyond dancers just dancing behind an artists.
AFROCONEX: How has the dance changed over the years. How is it different today from how it was done in 2019?
TOM: Dance has changed in such a huge manner. The dance in 2019 was very organic and very street; I mean very street. We had a lot of dope dancers back then. Today, I think we don’t have a lot of dope dancers. As much as Tiktok has helped dance to become more mainstream, it has also kinda killed the basic-ness and rawness and the authenticity of dance; the street vibe of the dance. Now people are just dancing at home, behind their phones, on instagram etc we don’t have the hunger anymore like what we would see on the streets. And a lot of people today, don’t want to learn how to dance anymore. As long as you can do 3 or 4 Tiktok moves officially in your head you are a dancer or a choreographer. It has its advantages and it has its disadvantages.
AFROCONEX: Since 2020, what Soweto’s Finest moves went viral and how often are moves created ?
TOM: There are so many moves, I really can’t count. But when Covid hit, the first move that went viral was the TIKOLOSHI. It was a dance and choreography by Soweto’s finest….isn’t that crazy? There have been so many after that; too many to count.
AFROCONEX: How has the rise of Amapiano impacted other dance styles in South Africa ? It sometimes feel like Amapiano has taken over as the most popular style.
TOM: Yes, Amapiano is very popular now, but you must remember, Amapiano is the new version of Isbhujwa. So it is building from what Isbhujwa created. Isbhujwa laid the foundation. Amapiano is also huge now musically, and dance wise it is the biggest thing in our country. The breakthrough for Amapiano has been different and it has been crazy. The funny thing though is that when you watch Amapiano dance you can see other South African dances in it. You can see Ispantsula, Isbhujwa, Gqom; these dances are the most popular styles in our country and you can see Amapiano has taken from each of these various South African dance genres. You know everyone has their time and I feel like it is Amapiano’s time right now. The rise is crazy; trust me.
Here is Tom demonstrating Isbhujwa and Retha showing the modern Amapiano evolution of the dance.
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