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Which movements appear in the Igbo Ubi-Ogazu dance?
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African dance
Rock painting of a dance performance, Tassili-n-Ajjer, Alg., attributed to the Saharan period of Neolithic hunters (c. 6000–4000 bc).
In the Igbo Ubi-Ogazu dance, which is a version of the popular Atilogwu performed by a boys' team, the primary movements involve birdlike hops executed in a circle while the performers hold carved, bird-topped staves.1
Following this initial sequence, the dancers drop the staves and transition to using horse-tail switches held in both hands as they form two lines facing one another for the main performance. The dancers wear girdles of brass bells and seedpod rattles around their ankles, which serve to accentuate these movements.1