I am not a Dancer, i'm a Dance Artiste

Someone during a conversation today called me a dancer, and jokingly i said "No o, i am not o", he asked "then what are you" i replied "I am a dance artiste" we both laughed over it.

But then come to think of it. Considering what Kaffy said in her interview with Linda Ikeji, while referring to Nigerian dancers, she said "Every single person that has made something out of dance today - passed through my path or learnt something from me till today."

She may be right, who knows, so i began to think of the features of this human type called the Nigerian dancer that she refers to.

1. The Nigerian dancer doesn't really understand the value of time, so he gives it out like a cheap prostitute in a dire need of a nice time. 2. Go to his house he is not there, go to events he is not there, exhibitions, he no dey, book reading, na lie, poetry festival, for where, even go to rallies he is not there. Nigerian dancer, where art thou every time? Doing what? 3. The Nigerian dancer is always waiting, waiting for miracle, waiting for jobs, waiting for the boss, waiting to blow, to hammer, waiting for his time. Above all, waiting for the kingdom of God. 4. The Nigerian dancer may be broke, but he is never too broke to be on social media, he never participate in debates or meaningful conversations, but he wishes every body happy birthday, likes everything on facebook, he scrolls over and like a thousand photos on Instagram, he doesn't really understand what twitter is for, so he retweets everything on his timeline. 5. He calls himself a dancer, but has no work to show for it, ask him for a link to his work which bares his own name, i die, ask him for his CV, and you will see "Backup dancer for Shina peters, the unveiling of alomo bitters, back up dancer for davido, AY live, masqurade dancer in Phyno's video, dancer in lukuluku the musical" if you don't seem impressed, then he brings out his trump card, "finalist in Dance with peter" #Shior.

In many ways, kaffy is right, they all either passed through her, or they all look up to her like a demi goddess, she's their hero, especially the girls, i even saw some wanting to totally go naked, hoping they can outshine her.

But you see, Dance Artistes are the direct opposite of Nigerian dancers, they work hard and they believe in the value of their hard work, they have works to show for it, they seek knowledge, they sweat and watch each drop of sweat become grains of seed, they know it will grow to become fruits, they have become the metaphorical coconut, which we may never understand how it continues to be watered. I respect dance artistes so much, because simple logic tells you that to them belongs the future.

I am not even scared of writing this because Nigerian dancers don't read, so if you read this to this point, you must be a dance artiste hehehe.