DCF Co-Founder Selected for “Emergence” Choreographic Mentorship Program (QDance Company)

Jun 19

Originally posted on QDance Center's website / 2023

EMERGENCE is a mentorship program that awards early-career dancers/choreographers based in Nigeria with opportunities to develop a new work, under the mentorship of the internationally renowned choreographer, Qudus Onikeku. The works from this year's emegence are billed to be shown in Germany, Nigeria, Mozambique and beyond.

After selection and initial mentorship in 2022, the three finalists for EMERGENCE 2022/2023 includes Patience Ebute (Jos) with ALEKU, Joshua Akubo Gabriel (Kaduna) with NO MANS LAND and Deborah Aiyegbeni (Lagos) with IT'S IN MY HEAD. The first tribe of EMERGENCE addresses cultural biases, sexuality and feminine energy; belonging, nationhood, and the effect of living under terror. The three artists will enjoy residency and co-production support from QDance, as well as our partner organizations in France and Germany.

IT'S IN MY HEAD is a solo piece that installs a psychological connection with the missing Chibok Girls, exploring the idea of belonging, of home and the possibility of return. ALEKU is a piece for 5 female dancers, based on a traditional practice in Benue Nigeria, where women undergo certain rituals as a way of cleansing from adultery. NO MANS LAND is a reflection on the survival journey and the dark screams of familiar voices reacting to homegrown terrorism that plagues Northern Nigeria expressed by 4 dancers.