Have
you seen the movie Save the Last Dance? I
remember my sisters watching the disc till it got exterminated. I recall asking
myself “if Nigerians can dance balle”
It will
be awesomely interesting watching Africans do such other than the regular
cultural dance and hip hop dance.
What about Ballet?
Ballet
is a type of performance dance that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century and later
developed into a concert dance form
in France and Russia.
Laugh your ass off with this article: Man of the dance floor
Why Nigerians can't dance ballet
A. Body weight: Our
body weight somewhat place a major limitation to performance in several
physical exercise events. I remember one era where big tummy was a regular
trend among ladies either young or old.
Majority
of our food are starchy (contains carbohydrate) thereby creating body fat which
limits effective movement.
Very
few Nigeria involve in physical exercise due to the day’s stress which is enough
to kill every last enthusiasm.
B. Mindset/Exposure: Many
Nigerians feel passion can’t bring sustainable profit as a result of the
country’s ill policy towards enhancement of talent, artistic embrace and
business orientation.
Everyone
is busy but nothing is really going on…white collar job is the glory for every
home. Tell your father you want to be a Ballet dancer and have your tooth
removed without a dentist.
Another
angle is that Nigerians perceive ballet to be a gay/lesbian dance. It’s really
hard to convince an African man to wear girly outfit or tight overall that
expose the contours of his black mamba.
C. Jealousy: Imagine a guy you don’t
know touching and creasing your girlfriend all in the name of a dance? That
will be his last dance if you ask a typical Nigerian guy lol
Nigerians
can’t really stand some sense of emotional touches impose on someone considered
a spouse.
I don’t
think we want a ballet performance to end up in a brawl?
Although,
enlightened people just seem to understand it’s a dance and no strings attached…that’s
if they don’t attach an invincible string though lol.
D. Facility: While writing this article, I took out time to search for ballet schools. They are
very few out there and I saw a good number of people asking for where they can
learn and polish their ballet skills.
Sarah
Boulos the founder of Society of Performing Arts Nigeria (SPAN) a Ballet school
in Lagos said
“It takes a minimum of two years to get one’s body fit for ballet”
"Ballet develops the left and right sides of brain, in terms of creativity and coordination".
Cool things Ballet to can do for Nigerians
I. Young Jackie-Chan: Children
can be taught ballet at a younger age therefore making them more flexible,
agile and resourceful. Some public schools are already employing Ballet
teachers.
II. Polish our choreography, music videos: Abimbola
Fakiya is a young hip-hop street dancer, turned male ballet dancer and he
describes how at first he thought ballet "was a girly dance".
Today he is able to balance his upper body on his toes in
the famous point position. He can also contort his body like an acrobat.
He credits ballet for helping to condition his body and make
it more agile.
IV. Edutainment (Entertainment + Education):
Causing people enjoy themselves as they learn in their various institutions. The
creative effect of ballet makes academic excellence achievable.
V. Adds flavor to the country: The colourful
culture of Nigeria can’t be over emphasized. Ballet dance would enhance the
artistic portrait hanging on the countries wall of inventiveness thereby
boosting tourism and social lifestyle.
Sometime
this year, SPAN took over the streets of Lagos showing the local community the
elegance of ballet, the quick steps of ballroom and the high impact movements
of hip-hop.
Their
initial aim is connect with the rest of the world and their broader goal is
affirm the creativity of Nigerian talent and choreography.
I’m
looking forward to a time where we would buy tickets and take our lovers to a Ballet concert date here in Nigeria.
Happy Independence in advance Nigeria
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The days are already here, Sarah Boulos and Lovette Otegbola are taking ballet to greater heights .
ReplyDeleteI have two gals that like Balle dance so much,and have taken time to observe them doing it.,hopeful they can improve if found a good holiday Balle school.,...how can you be of help?
ReplyDelete