The guayla style involves rhythmic shoulder movements called eskista – rapid shrugging, rolling and bouncing of the shoulders that can look almost impossible to a newcomer. The footwork is light and relatively simple, which means the dance is easy to join even if you have never done it before. The focus is always on the whole group rather than on any single performer.
Dancers wear traditional dress: women in long white cotton dresses called zuria, sometimes with coloured embroidered borders, their hair styled in neat plaits. Men wear white shirts and trousers. The white cotton cloth – called habesha libs – is important across Eritrean and Ethiopian highland cultures and is often worn for religious occasions and big celebrations.
Guayla is danced across Eritrea's many different ethnic communities, though each group has its own regional variations in footwork, costume and song. The Tigrinya, Tigre, Bilen, Saho and other communities all contribute their own flavour to the wider tradition. At national festivals you might see versions from five or six different regions one after another.
Music for guayla is provided by singers and by the kebero – a large double-headed drum carried on a strap and struck with the hands. The beat starts slow and grows faster as the dancing warms up, pushing the circle faster and faster until everyone is breathless and laughing.