FEATURED ARTIST | SOUTH AFRICAN DANCE | VIRAL CHOREOGRAPHY
Tyla’s “THAT GIRL” Dance Goes Global — But South Africa Already Knew the Phara Walk
A viral routine is carrying South African movement vocabulary across the world. The bigger story is what happens when a local dance reaches millions of viewers who may not know its name, history or choreographic authorship.
By Dance Mogul Magazine | September 8, 2026
AT A GLANCE
Song: “THAT GIRL” from Tyla’s second studio album, A*POP
Album release: July 24, 2026
Viral catalyst: Tyla’s July 24 Today Show Citi Concert Series performance in New York
Movement in focus: The “phara walk,” identified by South African coverage as a familiar part of local dance culture
Choreographer: Lee-ché Janecke, professionally known as Litchi HOV
When a dance travels faster than its history, the internet often remembers the movement before it remembers the people and culture behind it.
That is what makes Tyla’s “THAT GIRL” moment more important than another short-lived social-media challenge. The South African artist’s choreography has spread across TikTok and Instagram, with celebrities, dancers and fans learning the routine. Yet one of the moves attracting the most attention already had a name before much of the global audience encountered it.
South African publication The National reported that international fans had begun calling the movement the “stank walk,” while South African viewers immediately recognized it as the phara walk — a move the publication describes as having long been part of local dance culture.
The Viral Moment Started in New York
Tyla released A*POP, her 14-track sophomore album, on July 24, 2026. Sony Music’s official release announcement also placed her in New York that day for the Today Show’s Citi Concert Series.
According to The National, the “THAT GIRL” challenge began gaining momentum after that street performance. The choreography moved from a live performance into social feeds, where dancers around the world began repeating and reinterpreting it.
That progression — stage to screen, screen to challenge, challenge to global vocabulary — is now a familiar part of dance culture. But the speed of that process can erase context just as quickly as it creates exposure.
A dance can become global in a weekend. Its cultural name, lineage and creators should not have to disappear in the process.
Lee-ché “Litchi HOV” Janecke and the Choreography Behind Tyla
The choreography also places renewed attention on Lee-ché Janecke, professionally known as Litchi HOV, the South African choreographer and creative director whose work has become closely associated with Tyla’s visual movement language.
The National Arts Festival, which named Janecke the 2026 Standard Bank Young Artist Award recipient for Dance, describes the Cape Town-born artist as a choreographer whose movement language is rooted in South African rhythm while speaking to international stages.
This collaboration did not begin with “THAT GIRL.” Janecke choreographed Tyla’s “Water” movement, and Vogue reported in 2024 that Tyla specifically wanted to incorporate Bacardi, a South African dance, into the song’s visual language. Janecke is also credited as choreographer on the “Push 2 Start” video.
That history matters. Tyla’s viral dances are not isolated accidents. They sit within a continuing collaboration between a South African performer and a South African choreographer who repeatedly bring local movement vocabulary into global pop presentation.
Watch: Tyla — “THAT GIRL”
Official “THAT GIRL” music video from Tyla’s verified YouTube artist channel. Video remains hosted by the rights holder on YouTube.
What Is the Phara Walk?
At this stage, Dance Mogul Magazine is intentionally not reducing the phara walk to a single internet-friendly origin claim that the available sources do not establish.
What can be stated with confidence is that South African reporting identifies the movement in Tyla’s routine as the phara walk and describes it as familiar within local dance culture before the current challenge. That distinction is important because a viral nickname created outside the culture can quickly become more searchable than the name used by people who already knew the movement.
The responsible next step is not to invent a neat origin story. It is to preserve the name, identify the choreographic context and continue tracing the movement through South African dancers and sources.
When the Platform Renames the Movement
Social platforms are extraordinary distribution systems for dance. They are not always reliable archival systems.
A movement can be detached from its original name, taught without attribution and repeated by millions of people who encounter it only through the latest song. Once a new label becomes dominant in captions, search engines can begin reflecting the viral nickname rather than the cultural vocabulary that came before it.
That does not mean every person participating in a challenge is disrespecting a culture. Most people simply learn what appears in front of them. It does mean publications, choreographers, educators and dancers have an opportunity to add the missing context while attention is still high.
WHY THIS MATTERS
Virality can introduce a dance to the world, but documentation is what helps preserve its name, its makers and the culture that shaped it. The goal is not to stop movement from traveling. The goal is to make sure cultural credit can travel with it.
Why This Story Matters to Dance Mogul Magazine
Dance Mogul Magazine was built to document dancers, pioneers, choreographers and the cultural histories that can disappear when attention moves on.
The “THAT GIRL” challenge provides a real-time example of that mission. The viral story is Tyla. The dance-history story is larger: South African movement entering international pop culture, a choreographer whose authorship deserves to remain visible, and a local term competing with an internet nickname for the historical record.
Both stories can be true at once. Tyla can be celebrated for bringing the movement to a massive audience while the culture and choreographer behind the movement are named alongside her.
What the Next Generation Can Learn
Learn the name, not only the move. If a dance comes from a culture you did not grow up in, learning what the people from that culture call it is part of learning the dance.
Look for the choreographer. The artist may be the face of a performance, but choreography is creative authorship. Lee-ché Janecke’s name belongs in the conversation about Tyla’s movement language.
Separate choreography from cultural vocabulary. A choreographer can arrange, develop and present a routine while drawing from movement practices that already exist in a community. Crediting both levels produces a more accurate record.
Use virality as a doorway. A challenge can be the beginning of learning rather than the end of it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the dance in Tyla’s “THAT GIRL” challenge?
South African coverage identifies one of the routine’s most discussed movements as the phara walk. Some international social-media users have called it the “stank walk,” but South African viewers recognized the movement by its local name.
Who choreographed Tyla’s “THAT GIRL” dance?
South African reporting credits Tyla’s continuing collaboration with choreographer Lee-ché Janecke, known professionally as Litchi HOV, in connection with the “THAT GIRL” choreography.
Who is Litchi HOV?
Lee-ché Janecke is a Cape Town-born South African choreographer, creative director and cultural innovator. He received the 2026 Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Dance and has worked extensively with Tyla.
Did Litchi HOV also choreograph “Water”?
Yes. Janecke is associated with the viral “Water” choreography. Vogue reported that Tyla wanted to incorporate the South African Bacardi dance into that routine, and Janecke developed the choreography.
When was Tyla’s A*POP album released?
Sony Music announced the album’s release on July 24, 2026. The 14-track project includes “THAT GIRL.”
Explore More from Dance Mogul Magazine
The American Social Dance Movement — Why naming creators and preserving cultural lineage matters.
Celebrating Black Creative Directors & Choreographers — Recognizing the artists shaping movement behind the spotlight.
Explore Dance Styles — Continue through Dance Mogul Magazine’s dance-culture archive.
The Story Continues
The “THAT GIRL” challenge will eventually leave the trending page. The larger story will remain: South African dancers and choreographers are shaping the movement language of global pop culture in real time.
For Dance Mogul Magazine, the responsibility is simple. When the world learns the dance, we should also help it learn the name, the people and the culture that made the movement worth copying.
Reporting sources: The National (South Africa), Sony Music Canada, National Arts Festival, Vogue, and official Tyla video channels. Dance Mogul Magazine distinguishes confirmed reporting from cultural-origin questions that remain open for further documentation.
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