'Way way': Algeria’s subversive new dance

Screen grabs from the video below. 

“Way way”, also known as “Ey ey ey”, is a new street dance that has become very popular among Algeria’s youth in the past few months. These choreographies, danced to  Raï music, are tinged with caustic humour that isn’t to the taste of many adults…

Like the Shmoney Dance or the Harlem Shake before it, the “Way way” is spreading through social media. The dance relies heavily on miming. There are two ways to do it: some dancers mime the song’s exact lyrics, and others improvise and mime whatever they want, regardless of the lyrics.

The lyrics in this song say, "Give him the AK-47", so the young dancer mimes a machinegun. The singer then says, "Give him a butcher's knife so he can kill me", so the dancer pretends to take a knife and stab himself in the stomach. 

A few moves are often repeated, for example, imitating a machinegun, pinching one’s nose, looking far into the distance with one hand over the eyes, and pretending to drive a car or make a phone call. Comically exaggerated, these moves are reminiscent of American hip hop battles where dancers make fun of their opponents. Groups of teenagers – sometimes even children – film themselves dancing the “Way way”, in the streets or at home, and post the videos on YouTube. There are now thousands of these videos, and some get hundreds of thousands of views.

In this improvised dance, two young men take turns in front of the camera to show off their moves. One of them starts by drawing a big heart in the air, before piercing it with an arrow. He then pretends to turn a handle that hoists his middle finger into the air.

The more popular the “Way way” becomes, the more it is criticized in the Algerian media and on social networks. Some Internet users view it as a dance for drug users, because it is danced to Raï songs that sometimes feature the word “el halwa”, meaning “the candy” – ie, ecstasy. On Twitter and Facebook, some people call it a dance for “crazies” or for “hooligans”.

Even the authorities have reacted to this trend. Last weekend, a video showing students dancing the “Way way” in their schoolyard was widely shared online. According to the private television station El Bilad, the country’s education minister has launched an inquiry to identify the video’s authors, following complaints by parents.

Chemseddine, a student, has a very popular YouTube channel. In this video, he parodies the “Way way”. The video was seen more than 3 million times. For him, “Way way” dancers are simply fashion victims. He ends his comedy routine by parodying a TV talk show, in which patients who have caught the “Way way” complain of dancing nonstop without even realizing it.

"To dance the 'Way way', all you need is a mobile phone with some Raï music"

“Everybody dances the ‘Way way’, for example at weddings, between cousins. At my high school, all the students do it, boys and girls alike. We dance in the schoolyard. All you need is a mobile phone with some Raï music. We smoke, take selfies… It’s really easy to dance the “Way way”. There are specific moves that I copy from others – you pretend to take photos, or pretend to look in the distance. You dance with others, and sometimes you answer each other’s moves. For example, if a friend mimes that she’s giving me money, I’ll pretend to take it, all the while dancing.

We do this to have fun, to imitate certain types of people – especially those who have money. My friends make me laugh a lot when they dance the “Way way”, because they improvise and make up funny new moves. The girls don’t appear in the videos, but they’re often the ones filming. As for drugs, it’s true that some songs allude to ecstasy, but those aren’t songs that I listen to.

Post written with FRANCE 24 journalist Amira Bouziri (@AmiraB22).