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Jimbay, a dance production company, staged its first major production on Saturday, March 12 at the Ibru Gardens in Victoria Island, Lagos. The production, titled, ‘Tears in the Rain’, is the first in a series called ‘Corridors to Power’. According to the Logistics Director of Jimbay, Folakemi Cole, the Corridors to Power project is aimed at “getting artists to be more influential in society.” “Art is a very important part of life in general,” she said. “In the Western world, the arts are well acknowledged. Our aim is to achieve that degree of recognition and appreciation for the arts and artists here in Nigeria.” The evening started with cocktails and musical performances from up and coming artistes like Sammie, DFG, Aduke and East. Although all the artists who performed at the pre-show were virtually unknown to this reporter, they however all proved to be talented in their different genres of music which ranged from RnB and Hip-Hop to acoustic soul. The guests were highly impressed as they showered each talent with loud ovations. Amongst the guests were rapper Kel, dancer Dayo Liadi and singer Elvina Ibru who also served as one of the sponsors of the show.

The show

The main event started on time, at 7:15pm. The 55-minute dance production included solo and group performances that incorporated different dance forms like traditional African dance, contemporary dance, ballet, salsa and hip-hop interspersed with monologues from some cast members.

The theme of the production was a call for dance appreciation in Nigeria and proportionate pay for services rendered by dancers. The monologues which were added to further the theme, told the tale of the plight of dancers in this part of the world. According to Anthony Edet Offiong, artistic director of Jimbay and one of the choreographers, each monologue was based on a personal experience of the dancer that narrated it.

In one of the monologues, drummer Ebisidor Asiyai, talked about how he lost his sister. She had died in childbirth, a death that could have been avoided if he had the money for her medical bills. But no thanks to his profession, he had been unable to do right by her. In his own monologue, Offiong compared the regard the public has for doctors to the one they reserve for dancers. “If you go to a doctor and he charges you 50K [fifty thousand naira],” he began, “you would pay him – no questions asked. But you come to me, a dancer. You want me to perform at your event. You say you want something that puts the “spectac” in spectacular. But when I charge you 50K, you would ask me ‘Is it not just dance? Is it not to just to jump from here to here?’ If it is so easy to jump from here to here, why don’t you do it?” The audience responded with self-conscious laughter at this. He then went on to make brief reference to all the thought and planning required in putting up a production also, the creativity, time and effort involved.

Spectac in spectacular

Cole who also performed in the production as a dancer, in her monologue, talked about how every profession deserves respect. Another dancer, Ugo Obiayo, expressed her wish to have the finer things of life derived from her work as a dancer but as this is not her reality, she continues in dance because of her love for it.

However, by the end of the production the theme seemed to have been over-flogged as, in spite of the personal touches, each narrator reiterated what the other had said, especially about the lack of financial gain in the dance profession.

Still, the dance portion of the production was, to use Offiong’s words, pure “spectac in spectacular”. Each routine was carried out in a timely manner with one running smoothly into the other, despite multiple wardrobe changes by the cast. The entire production spoke of professionalism, commitment and talent.

The dances were energetic, emotionally expressive and captivating to watch. Though there were certain levels of individual expressions in the group performances, they were still performed in seamless uniformity. One of the routines, a contemporary ballet performed by Paolo Sissiano and Folake Cole, was particularly riveting. Accompanied by a love song, it took the audience through the throes of attraction, ecstasy and loss/heartbreak experienced by lovers. The dance literally drew sighs of longing from the audience.

‘They are talking about me’

In the final act of the entire production, a lady seated next to this reporter lamented, “I don’t want it to end.” During Edet’s monologue where he talked about clients offering dancers little pay in exchange for huge expectations, this lady had turned to her daughter to say in self-deprecation, “They are talking about me.” The same conflicting sentiments of appreciation and under-appreciation were also shared by the host of the event, Aderonke Adebanjo of Smooth FM. Speaking to NEXT at the end of show, she enthused over the entire production saying, “I thought it was fantastic and I am hoping and praying that [the dance company will] get the funding they need to go on tour.” However when asked if she would recruit them at fifty thousand for a private production, she said, “I don’t think that they would charge fifty thousand, because that is pretty excessive for a dance company.” But then she quickly added, “Unless they get to a certain level. If they are that good I am sure I would pay fifty thousand. And I am sure these guys are good enough for fifty thousand.”

While thanking the audience for their presence at the show and the evening’s sponsors and partners which included Sarah Boulos, Elvina Ibru and Alliance Francaise amongst others, Offiong mentioned that Jimbay intends to take the show on the road across the country, particularly to universities.