It's not any just any dance, though. They're dancing in sexually provocative ways that are not appropriate for their age. And if you saw the trailer you'll see that the young girls' movements, poses, and how they dress and present themselves exude a very sexual atmosphere outside of their dancing. It feels like the writer-director Maïmouna Doucouré is trying too hard to be provocative in her directorial debut that it kinda dilutes the message of the dangers of society sexualizing its youth (if ever that was really the intended message it tries to convey or not, I'm not sure).
Maybe describing this film as softcore pedophilia is too extreme. The way I depict softcore is anything suggestive or erotic but in an indirect way, and I thought that the girls twerking, posing and moving around and while in tight pants and exposed midriffs all fit the description. I'll be glad if you or anyone could correct me about this. The trailer and the marketing surrounding the film just feel squicky to me.
Anyhow, I've learned that the main character's family in this film is of Senegalese origin. While researching about this film I've stumbled on an old article about Senegalese women who dance provocatively in front of tourists for money, even showing their private parts to them. In the article it says there are instances where young girls are brought along in public dancing contests where they imitate their mothers dancing the ''Leumbeul'' while wearing the "Bethio" (a small transparent loincloth) and gyrating in all directions. Her being Senegalese as well, I believe the writer-director is trying to draw parallels with what she saw there to today's youth who trying to explore their sexuality. Though I believe that message would be better delivered if the film was instead a documentary-styled show depicting the corruption of the Senegalese youth in the country as-is rather than crafting this formulaic, coming-of-age film whose story structure is already done to death in cinema (as if 11 years old is considered coming-of-age. I'm pretty sure coming-of-age best describes those in their 17s to early 20s. I think children around the age of 11 should not worry about adult stuff and instead enjoy their youth while they still have it.)
Here's the article in question:
''Senegalese traditional dance, sex or pornography?'' by afrik-news