Twerking

Twerking is a dance style. The dancer (usually a female) shakes and bounces (jiggles) her buttocks in a sexually provocative manner while in a low squatting posture. Oxford Dictionaries defines 'twerking' as a verb: "dance to popular music in a sexually provocative manner involving thrusting hip movements and a low, squatting stance". Twerking drew a lot of attention in the United States when Miley Cyrus did a twerking dance on nationwide television during the MTV Video Music Awards program in August 2013.

Twerking's origins lay in West and Central Africa, where traditional dances such as Mapouka from the Ivory Coast and other related pelvic dances emphasized expressive hip and buttock isolations in ceremonial, celebratory and social settings.

References

↑ Levy, Megan (14 December 2012). "Do you know how to twerk? (Or even what it is?)". The Age. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
↑ "Definition of twerk in English". Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on September 13, 2013. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
↑ Janine, Christa (2023-08-01). "When Did Twerking Go Mainstream? A Look at the History of This Now-Iconic Dance Move". Popsugar. Retrieved 2026-08-11.
↑ Sauphie, Eva (2021-11-19). "African origins: From New Orleans to Abidjan, the roots of twerking". The Africa Report. Retrieved 2026-08-11.

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[theage-1] Levy, Megan (14 December 2012). "Do you know how to twerk? (Or even what it is?)". The Age. Retrieved 20 December 2012.

[2] "Definition of twerk in English". Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on September 13, 2013. Retrieved September 16, 2013.

[3] Janine, Christa (2023-08-01). "When Did Twerking Go Mainstream? A Look at the History of This Now-Iconic Dance Move". Popsugar. Retrieved 2026-08-11.

[4] Sauphie, Eva (2021-11-19). "African origins: From New Orleans to Abidjan, the roots of twerking". The Africa Report. Retrieved 2026-08-11.