Dance is an art form that requires the movement of the body in a rhythmic way, usually to music and within a given space, for expression. Dance and music are conjoined twins, something, one serves as inspiration to the other. In Nigeria, artists have built up on Dance steps to create music. The journey of the global new sound, Afrobeats, is incomplete without dancing. The art genre amplifies it.
In the course of the genre’s growth, there have been dancers who have made waves in their respective careers. People like Kaffy, Pocolee. Surely, when Ruggedman said “Dance Na the Main thing,” on “Baraje,” he was not mouthing, it was.
One of the young dancers making waves in dancing in Nigeria right now is Richee Emmanuel. Born in Port-Harcourt, the dancer steadily makes waves for himself. With close to a decade in the game, he led us into his world in this conversation which has been condensed for clarity purposes.
What does it take to become a dancer?
To become a dancer that sees him or herself going far with their career, I’d say it takes a lot of sacrifices in the sense that you need to be consistent, dedicated, put in a lot of hard and smart work into your craft so that you can be able to stand out among your peers in the nearest future.
I have watched some of your videos online, the dexterity is there, for how long have you been dancing?
By the way, I’d say I do appreciate the time you took to watch the content I put out. Truth be told, I have been dancing since I was like 4 years old. This was a gift passed on from God to my mum and then to myself, but I’ll say I started dancing professionally in 2012/2013, so I’d say roughly 10/11 years.
Tell me more about growing up, what was it like?
Growing up wasn’t that easy for me, especially when you grow up at the depth of the trenches of Port Harcourt city where you gotta be a survivor to be able to fend for what to eat and struggle to live in some certain kind of way and to be honest it turned me into who I am today, a really strong superhuman. Never taking No for an answer and never giving up mentality and that’s just it.
Dance is still being looked upon in Nigeria, what were the challenges for you in the course of your being a dancer?
As a Dance artist in Nigeria, you’ll go through tough challenges, especially when your parents don’t approve of your dancing and all. From my parents locking me inside the house, to not having transport to go for rehearsals, to going for free shows and then coming back to sleep With an empty stomach and going again and again and again and again. It’s quite a lot of challenges, you know, not to talk of being cheated on always, police disturbance here and there, everybody just wants to take take take.
We have Kaffy, Poco Lee, and other greats, do you have anyone that you looked up to in dance?
Big shoutout and Respect to the names you mentioned but I don’t look up to anyone in the Nigeria Dance scene as a whole, I only look up to God and that’s the only one that has brought me this far with the helping hands he has always stretched out in times of need.
Not to forget Poco Lee is a perfect example of an inspiration that breaks all boundaries and odds to show that Dance is the real deal, big shoutout to my broski Poco Lee, a real one. And we inspire each other in various parts we need to put in the work.
Do you think dancers are given the needed encouragement in the country?
Dancers barely get the attention or rather encouragement we need despite the amount of work we’ve put into afrobeat as a whole, making the westerners fall in love with our sound through our Dance and style, always there to show support and effort in concerts, social media, weddings, church programs, and the list goes on, but then like I’ll always say “The Big Break is on its way.”
Any future projects for dancing?
Oh yes for sure I’ve got big plans coming and that I can’t disclose yet until you see it Happen, just remember I told you first.
Do you have any milestones or achievements in dance that you are proud of?
Yeah For sure I do have some milestones and achievements I am proud of and would love to share, starting from Dancing and exchanging pleasantries with the biggest dancers in the world “Les twins” to participating at the Maltina dance all with my family to traveling around Africa spreading the gospel of Nigerian Dance and the list goes on if I start we fit no finish.
Some dancers said hunger or poverty motivated them into dancing. What motivated you into becoming a dancer?
I wouldn’t say it’s just a motivation from not coming from a wealthy background, just as we’ve got the music Artiste share their story, Pain, and struggles through their music that’s how we’ve got Dance Artiste like myself who share my story, Pain and struggle through my craft, pouring whatever emotions I’m going through into my art to fuel the process of my success story, I can’t have this talent and snooze my chances of becoming a better and successful version of myself even if it takes few years.
and then