If you ask a foreigner who arrives in Ghana today what is the latest boogie in town, certainly he will not hesitate to say it’s the Kangaroo dance. With the adoption of the dance by the Black Stars and the recent political dimension given it by the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the dance has moved to another level. The fever now thunders everywhere and had even gained international prominence. In the streets, offices, market places, the classroom, and even in Parliament, the Kangaroo fever has touched everyone.
For those who don’t know, the dance was originated by Ghana’s hiplife artiste Tic Tac, who is also known as Nana Kweku Duah. He choreographed the dance after releasing his hit album “Accra Connection” which has a song titled Kangaroo which became a hit song overnight.
Its video clip was directed by Gill Green, one of the best music video directors in the world, and produced by MTV Base in collaboration with Kafina Records.
Featuring top-notch artistes like Batman Samini and Ex-Doe among other hiplifers, Tic Tac hopped like Kangaroos do, in the clip.
At most of his gigs on both local and international platforms, the Kangaroo was the headliner of such shows.
The black stars subsequently picked the dance at the 26th MTN Africa Cup of Nations because “they enjoyed the song and decided to use its dance to celebrate their goals in honour of Tic Tac”.
Perhaps that was the reason the NPP also adopted the Kangaroo dance. Tic Tac told Beatwaves that the Kangaroo was composed to “urge my fans and everyone to be determined and not give up on their dream. Anybody at all can use it.” The dance, he indicated, was his brother’s idea.
“I could remember the very words of brother. He told me, ‘Tic you have to do a Kangaroo dance to the Kangaroo song’, and I went ahead to do it with MTV Base.”
The song and dance also caught up with international audiences to the extent that “some top Australian music icon even asked me to do a remix for them,” Tic Tac said.
Kangaroos are widespread in Australia, to an extent that the Kangaroo is used as an Australian icon. It is used on the Australian Coat of Arms, on some of its currency, and by many Australian organisations.
A common myth about the kangaroo’s English name is that it came from the Aboriginal words for “I don’t understand you.”
According to legend, Captain James Cook and naturalist Sir Joseph Banks were exploring Australia when they chanced upon the animal.
They asked the locals what the creature was called. The locals responded “Kangaroo”, meaning “I don’t understand you”, which Cook took to be the name of the creature.
