Swange Dance

It is a dance of fast, slow, rhythmic and undulating movements, expressing youth and vigour. Swange is played at various types of social and religious functions for the enjoyment of the old and the young. The dance is characterized by rhythmic contortion in slow mode & vibrant display, typical of African dance forms. It has wonderful beat and beautiful rhythm. It is heavily percussion- based, aided by a traditional horn (al-gaita), which blows in an unbroken succession for as long as the drumming, Singing and dancing is going on. The dance particularly exhibits fluidity in body movement, which was inspirited by the flow of the River .

Sixfootplus had this to say about it “Swange is the name given to the traditional dance of the Tiv-speaking people of Benue state of Nigeria. The dance is characterized by rhythmic contortion in slow mode & vibrant display, typical of African dance forms. It is heavily percussion- based, aided by a traditional horn (al-gaita), which blows in an unbroken succession for as long as the drumming, Singing and dancing is going on. ” Some Benue artists mix this dance pattern up with their stage performances to the admiration of their fans; notable amond these are, Zulezoo, Bravo D, Sixfootplus etc.