Culture archivist wants dancers to include content in dance performances

A culture archivist, Jahman Anikulapo, on Saturday advised dancers to include storylines in their performances to further attract audience’s attention.

Anikulapo gave the advice at the Trufesta International Dance Festival in Lagos with the theme: “Ijodee, Educating the Passion of Dance for 20 Years- Let’s Settle the Scores”.

He described dance as a non-verbal means of communication which should have a definite storyline and form.

According to him, dance performances must address and reflect on the societal problems and proffer solutions to such problems.

He said every form of art must have form and content, urging dancers to take cognisance of the content to attain a level of professionalism in dance.

“Dancers are not supposed to dance just for dancing sake, but should think about communicating with the audience.

“Communicating with the audience creates room for the availability of storylines in dance performances, just like the home movies we watch.

“A good dancer must be able to carry his or her audience along while dancing and should create a storyline which has to do with Nigerian culture and societal ills.

“Contemporary dance must have a narration and address the societal ills so as to make it relevant to the environment and the audience,” Anikulapo said.

He urged the Society for Performing Arts of Nigeria (SPAN) to work on the documentation of works of renowned dancers like Ijodee, Kaffe, among others.

Also, Dr Felix Emoruwa, a Senior Lecturer, Department of Creative Arts, University of Lagos, urged dancers to remain focused and contribute positively to the development of the society.

Emoruwa admonished them to work tirelessly on personal development which was very important to their career progression.

“You should know that nobody will give you the opportunity to make it; you must strive to make people to see what you have before you can be celebrated,” he said.

The New Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Sarah Fadoul-Boulos, the Chief Executive Officer, Society for Performing Arts of Nigeria (SPAN), declared the festival opened.(NAN)
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