DANCE FOR LIFE!

If you were not at the National Theatre Iganmu Lagos last week then you missed a lot! Yeah, you missed the Crown Troupe of Africa’s live concert- the great music, the acrobatic dance, the thrilling cultural choreography, and the rib cracking jokes- all powered by a group of talented young people!

Five years ago was the last time I visited the National Theatre (shame on me right?), thus I was shocked by how intact the whole place is (well, the toilet was a little bit out of shape), and impressed by how so many fans turned up at the Cinema Hall 1 to watch Segun Adefila’s dance-theatre group at their best.

You know, a famous quote by Plato says “to sing well and to dance well is to be well educated.” And this group testifies to it with their commitment towards projecting our culture through the art of dance and music. Segun Adefila, the group leader once said “Some say art is for Art’s sake but I say art if for life sake.” Thus they make it a duty to pass a message about life through all their dance performance and songs, last week was no exception.

The star studded event, which was organized to celebrate Crown Troupe of Africa’s 13th anniversary and give a sneak preview of their anticipated/soon-to-be released album, brought together the likes of Sound Sultan, W4, Yinka Davies, Tosyn Bucknor a.k.a Contradiction, Princess, Modella, Tunde Kelani, Marian Travis, Yemi Sodimu, Beautiful Nubia and a host of other artistes.

The group set the stage ablaze with their first performance “Ere ti ya”, even those that didn’t understand the Yoruba language couldn’t help but dance to the rhythm and heavy beats displayed by their rich talent. Adunni and her Nerfititi vocals, all clad in white attire and armed with shekere, sang their own song with a passion that sent jitters down my spine.

“Mi o ni choice” another music-dance performance by the Crown troupe also deeply rooted in satirical lines and afro centrism cheered the audience up before sharing the stage with other artistes. Beautiful Nubia left us all with something to think about in his poetry performance titled “Can’t you see?”. Some performances were dipped low while some reeled to high heaven. For Segun Adefila and his group- The Crown Troupe of Africa, I am optimistic that the days will be good to them as long as they stay true to the course.