Indonesian Boy's Dance Stuns the World

TDT | Manama

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It started as a dance, then became a viral meme, and now it’s a big trend among top athletes.

In the past few weeks, social media around the world has been full of videos showing a young boy from Indonesia wearing sunglasses, standing on the front tip of a long racing boat, and doing what many say is the coolest dance ever.

People call it “aura farming” — basically, showing off your cool vibe or charisma.

The dance moves are stylish but easy to copy. Big sports stars like American football player Travis Kelce, F1 driver Alex Albon, and even the Paris Saint-Germain soccer team have joined in and tried the dance.

The boy behind it all is 11-year-old Rayyan Arkan Dikha. He told the BBC that he just made up the dance on the spot.

“I came up with the dance myself,” he said. “It was just spontaneous.”

Rayyan is a 5th grader from a village in Kuantan Singingi. He was dancing as part of a traditional boat race called Pacu Jalur — where teams row long boats fast. Rayyan’s role is the Togak Luan, the dancer who stands at the front of the boat to hype up the rowers.

In the famous video, he’s wearing a traditional outfit and a headcloth, standing on the front of the speeding boat with 11 adults rowing behind him. He blows kisses and moves his arms smoothly without showing much emotion.

His dance moves include waving his hands in circles and holding balanced poses. Since late June, videos of his dance under hashtags like “aura farming kid on boat” have millions of views on TikTok.

Fans have nicknamed him “The Reaper” because he “never loses.” Many people online are copying his moves and posting their own videos.

Sports teams have noticed too. On July 1, Paris Saint-Germain posted a TikTok trying the dance, saying, “His aura made it all the way to Paris.” Their video got over 7 million views in 10 days.

The next day, NFL star Travis Kelce shared his own version, which has now been seen over 14 million times.