If you sometimes get a bit bored or distracted watching “traditional” sports that demand adherence to a lengthy rulebook (and frequently have games that last for several hours), you might prefer something a little more relaxed, spontaneous, and creative. Enter the sport of “discofoot,” which follows the general parameters of a soccer (football) match but incorporates music and dance.
Soccer fans may recall that Portugal claimed its first European Championship at UEFA Euro 2016 by defeating host nation France 1-0 in the final. But several months earlier, another sporting milestone was celebrated: the creation of discofoot. In the run-up to the tournament, the Henri Delaunay Cup traveled by train through 25 French cities. One of the stops on the UEFA Euro 2016 Trophy Tour was Nancy, in the Lorraine region. As part of the celebrations surrounding the cup’s French tour, the Centre Chorégraphique National (CCN) - Ballet de Lorraine, under the direction of Petter Jacobsson, held the first-ever game of discofoot on the Place Stanislas, a major pedestrianized square in Nancy.
Twenty-four dancers from the Ballet de Lorraine, divided into two teams of twelve, competed in the match, which was officiated by a referee and three artistic judges. Male and female dancers competed together on mixed teams, dressed in red/black or blue/white jerseys. However, the most notable part of the uniform was undoubtedly the tiny gold shorts worn by every player.
In some ways, it wasn't all that different from a usual soccer game, though each half lasted just 10 minutes. There was a warm-up, handshakes, anthems, and team photos. As in any soccer match, the objective was to pass the ball among teammates and score on the opposing team’s goal. The key difference, however, was that every time a player moved, they had to be dancing – no running allowed. Not surprisingly, considering that these pioneering discofoot players were professional ballet dancers, those dance moves combined pre-established choreography with wide-ranging improvisation across multiple performance genres.
While the referee enforced the rules and kept track of the goals, the three artistic judges kept an eye on the dancing portion of the match and how stylishly the goals were scored, awarding points for creativity and finesse. The artistic scores were presented twice – once during half-time (which also involves a choreographed stretch) and once after the match – and added to number of goals.
Since discofoot's debut in 2016, the Ballet de Lorraine has been wowing spectators with their moves at cultural events across Europe. Short films of the matches (or are they performances?) have gone viral online, with many viewers expressing interest in trying out this upbeat and inclusive sport for themselves.
Dancing to victory:
- At every discofoot event, DJ Ben Unzip keeps the dancers in motion by providing a mix of dance (and often disco-themed) tunes throughout the match. While the dancers are all classically trained, they are free to dance in whatever way the music inspires them to move.
- It’s possible for a team to win a discofoot match without actually scoring a goal, provided that they receive superior artistic scores from the judges for their dancing.
- The Ballet de Lorraine has been in action this week (July 28-30), bringing discofoot to the French city of Nantes for the cultural program staged there in conjunction with the men’s and women’s soccer matches of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.