I just found my new favorite sport – DISCOFOOT! Discofoot is a game that was conceived by choreographers and dancer Petter Jacobsson and Thomas Caley, and that at first glance resembles soccer, but with a twist. A Discofoot match consists of two halves with a halftime and involves two teams with 12 people each. The game is played with a ball that the players handle like a soccer ball, with the intention of scoring goals—but the big difference between Discofoot and soccer (or European football) is that the instead of running or walking, players must dance their way across the field. Ballet de Lorraine further explains the rules on their website:
The match/performance is played using the basic forms, placement and rules of European football. BUT in order to move and/or travel on the field all are required to dance. Never at rest, a continuous improvisation develops that follows the ball but also pays close attention to artistic merit (the battle) which is also a key element to winning the game.
A panel of judges plays a big role in determining who wins a Discofoot match, as they score the dance moves twice during the match. These scores are added to whatever goals are made to determine the final scores and the winning team.
Discofoot also explicitly challenges the gender, cultural, and aesthetics norms of mainstream sports like soccer. Ballet de Lorraine states that all genders are welcome and explains that Discofoot matches don't "have time for the usual hyper masculinity attributed to football" because all the players are busy dancing! They summarize the sport's ethical stance by stating that Discofoot "shakes, shimmies and twirls us further away from our society's cumbersome classifications."
I think Discofoot—which Ballet de Lorraine describes as an "ass kickin, DJ spinin, maybe even twerkin free-styling battle, where football's rules are twisted and thrashed by dance"—sounds like the perfect sport. Sorry, pickleball, I think everyone should start playing Discofoot, pronto!
