pantsula
/pantˈsuːlə
/noun (plural pantsulas or mapantsula) South African informal
1A fashionable young urban black person, especially a man: the cheapest pair of shoes you’ll find worn by a pantsula cost about 150 rand...
- If you're still not sure who they are, come to Sandton Square on Thursday where mapantsula will be strutting their stuff.
- They also said they were after 'pantsulas', urban spivs who now work on the mines.
- A pantsula was supposed to be the one who dressed elegantly yet not too formally but still made a fashion statement.
2 [mass noun] A dance style in which each person performs a solo turn within a circle of dancers doing a repetitive, shuffling step.‘Moving into Dance will present an Afro-fusion choreographed performance, while music will be provided by a variety of performers, including pantsula and Shangaan dancers,’ the statement said....
- The impressive cast of 18 dancers and drummers combine pantsula and tap with Tswana and gumboot dancing and the rhythmic beat of drums.
- Tapsula's unique fusion of dance styles, the informal township pantsula, and the very formal U.S. influence tap, has got producers from as far away as London's West End and New York's Broadway salivating at the show's futures prospects.
Origin
Perhaps related to Zulu p(h)ansula 'strike sharply (with a whip)', with reference to elements of the dance style.