Reggada Dance

Reggada belongs to the Amazigh communities of the Beni Snassen and the wider Oriental region around Berkane and Oujda, and its distinguishing movement is in the shoulders: dancers stand in a line, feet largely planted, and drive a rapid shimmy from the shoulders and upper chest in time to the rhythm, often while holding a rifle or a stick. The accompaniment is ghaita, the reed pipe, with bendir and other drums, and the singing alternates lead and chorus. It is generally read as descending from martial display, which the stance and the weapon support, and it functions now as the dance of weddings, moussems and public celebration across the north-east, with a popular music genre built on it that gets national airplay. Seeing it properly means being at a wedding or a regional festival rather than a staged show; the recorded genre is easy to find and is not the same thing.

What you actually see

• A shoulder shimmy - the movement driven from the upper body with the feet planted.
• A line formation - dancers side by side, often holding a rifle or a stick.
• Ghaita and bendir - reed pipe and frame drum with call-and-response singing.
• A living celebration dance - weddings and moussems rather than staged performance.

When to go

Summer for regional festivals; weddings all year. An evening.

Honest expectations

The authentic setting is a private celebration, which means an invitation. Staged versions for visitors are flatter. The popular recorded genre is a different thing from the traditional form. Festival dates are announced locally.

Nearby

Berkane and the Zegzel gorge are the tradition's heartland; Oujda is east.