A dance to remember - This Is Africa Lifestyle

‘We Almost forgot’ comes to Nigeria

The production featured six dancers and an actress from six countries. The cast and crew of Qudus Onikeku’s dance creation ‘We Almost Forgot’ were in Nigeria for the first ever performance of the scintillating dance routine in the country. The production featured six dancers and an actress from six countries (Nigeria, Gabon, Morocco, Algeria, Madagascar & France), making it a truly international show.

“The 4 sold out show after the world premiere in Berlin, was greeted with thunderous applauds and standing ovations,” a statement by Onikeku’s dance company, QDanceCenter, said. It also quoted Kenyan author, Binyavanga Wainaina who had seen the show elsewhere as saying that the performance was one not to be missed. The Nigeria premiere, which was staged in Lagos and Abuja, was made possible by the support of the Goethe Institut, Bank of Industry, Institut Français and the German Embassy.

Life of a touring dancer

Qudus Onikeku is a renowned Nigerian dancer and choreographer. He was born in, and brought up in Surulere, Lagos. In 2009, he graduated from the Ecole nationale Superieur des arts du cirque, France. Onikeku has had an enduring interest in acrobatic dance since childhood and has turned his passion into a thriving career.

After touring and collaborating with several renowned dancers around the world, Onikeku began his solo career in 2014. His dance routines are a combination of acrobatics and dance, with Yoruba traditional philosophy as his foundation. His productions also infuse elements of hip hop, capoeira and tai chi.

Africa is not a place sitting inactive somewhere down south

Through his work, Onikeku noted on his website, he hopes to make known that “ Africa is not a place sitting inactive somewhere down south, but a space of creation that is not solely disorder, chance and madness, but emerges from a sort of violent burst, with its languages, its beauty and ugliness, and its ways of summing up the world.”

The Nigeria premiere of his latest production ‘We Almost Forgot’, held in Lagos and Abuja on 24 and 26 June respectively and it was an experience never to be forgotten.