Welcome to a city that is socially classified as its own country. The Zulu culture sets precedence to the pride felt by those born in Durban. This pride has however, infamously labelled anyone from the Zulu Kingdom as the dominant personality in all social interactions. It’s only after you’ve taken time to know it’s people, that you’ll embrace their bold and culturally enriched nature
There’s talk of Durban Music in South Africa called Gqom, not pronounced “gwam” as BBC6’s Mary Anne Hobbs pronounces it, but it's pronounced with a palatal click/ dental click, like the sound of a popping lid.
Any club or party playlist will consist of various genres, but the hierarchy is understood during that transition, when the house dj switches to Gqom. So all the hip hop heads break their habitual head-bobbin’ to the undeniable head nod commanded by each African drum beat that defines the sound od Gcom.
Durban music has not only captured the interest of a UK based radio station, BBC6, but is also distinct to the African ear.
The choreography is in the interest of Trot Your Globe. Those that have been fortunate enough to witness that random drop to the floor, commonly refered to as "vosho", would back us up on our intrigue. .
It’s easy to mistake the people from Durban as arrogant when you see the men flaunt their wealth, but they are raised to be assertive, hard-working providers whose forefathers ran multiple households on a scale of wealth.
We trotted this city a few years ago for its annual Durban July event and the incredible the Zimbali Resort, but have had to go back for a better understanding of its modern dance culture. It goes without saying, there’s a lot of culture to be proud of, hence there’s such a huge price variance in hotels during the festive season.
If you can’t afford a luxurious R10 000/night stay at the Beverly Hills hotel, you can always visit their restaurant and toast to an impressively low-priced bottle of Moet Nectar Champaign while overlooking the beach. Durban’s weather is built for physical activity anyways, for dancing, and sunny beach bike-rides.
Florida road will easily expose you to the ethnicity in Durban, and the chillie in their curries will have you exercising to all bathrooms you come across, which contributes to that much needed fitness during your holiday. Physical Activity!
What does Trot Your Globe dance fitness take from this trip?
Marching on beach sands during a workout is incredibly tedious, the very negative connotation placed on exercising.What we need is soul, and dancing to Gcom
reminds us that an effective exercise can simply be that random booty drop followed by whatever else you decide to do when you go down low.