NIGERIA: It was three days of dance classes, exhibitions and live performances as Dafa featured artists from various dance genres in Nigeria. The Abuja Dance and Arts festival organised by Dafa, it is a yearly event that promotes dance and other forms of Arts in Nigeria.
The platform helps groom young creative minds by providing them with an opportunity to express themselves in various forms of Art.
According to the founder ,Esther Ikyanyon, Dafa creates an avenue for showcasing creative arts in Nigeria by Nigerians and other participating countries thereby promoting exchange of cultural heritage.
“Dafa inspires people and at this year’s event we are hoping people will be inspired through the various performances, so we don’t just come here to entertain but we work on our stories, lessons and themes,” she added.
“So the event is creating continental community that will bring value to the nation, so when it gets into the creative space, it should be harnessed to bring about its desired value, that is what Dafa is doing,” said Francis Duru, Nollywood Actor.
The founder of Dafa said this year’s event comes with its uniqueness of infusing fashion into dance style.
“This year’s festival’s theme is “fashion and fusion” infusing fashion into a stage play in a play called threads of destiny featuring a Nollywood actor Francis Duru including other creative minds in the city of Abuja. So the idea is infusing fusion into performance, music and dance, that is the highlight for this year’s event”.
Some creative minds at the event said the brand has been consistent and supportive in helping to nurture and uplift young creative artists.
“Little by little the bird makes its nest, so for Dafa, it has been a gradual growth and it is good because it is in its process that it will be sustained and I like the fact that they are taking one step at a time, and that is the unique thing about it,” Duru said.“
The theme says it all, lot of times, dance is a fashionable act andin many cases we don’t reflect that fashion aspect of dance, so I am happy that they are bringing it out so that people get to see fashion sense in dance looking at the style and the customs,” said Michael Okoye, an artist. Another artist, Jeedah Wilson said Dafa is a promising platform and has helped in connecting artists with one another over the years.
This year, they have even gone to the state of adding stage play to it, initially it used to be just dance, dance and then may be music but now I heard there will be stage play and I look forward to that. “Dafa has helped some new artists through its platform get possessorships, invitations to shows and opportunities to the global stage.
By Michael Dibie
Africanews
