Biama dance craze sweeps Abidjan and fuels a new creative economy

On the streets of a working-class Abidjan neighbourhood, hundreds of young people gather every week after class to dance the biama, a high-tempo combo of acrobatic twists, frenetic footwork and funny facial expressions.

The craze has gripped Ivory Coast — where nearly two thirds of the population is aged under 25 — since it evolved from the country’s popular coupe-decale dance music a few years ago.

In Yopougon, the district where it…