https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Kve5zGgUaw

Tell a typical Nigeria parent that you want to be a dancer when you grow up, and be thankful if you do not receive a destiny resetting slap! Dancers have always been looked down upon – often referred to as unserious or even lazy for choosing dance as a profession.

To shed more light on the topic of dancing professionally in Nigeria, Ex Big Brother Naija 2017 housemate, Thin Tall Tony (TTT for short), joins Fay and Dakel on the set of ‘The Core’.

When asked how the growth of dance in Nigeria has been, TTT said “Dance is the least talked about part of the arts, or not respected,” but he added that there has been positive changes, especially in the art of Dance itself. Dancers he said, add colour to entertainment (music), but they do not get paid enough, money wise, and respect wise.

We can recall in October last year, popular Nigerian dance queen, Kaffy, lashed out at singer Davido, for being unethical and unprofessional to the dancers who were working with him on set. In her lengthy Instagram post, she stated that it was very disrespectful to look down on dancers who in one way or another, contribute to where musicians are today. “Enough is Enough!” she said. This apparent disrespect, is one of the major challenges a professional dancer in Nigeria faces.

Thin tall tony, when asked about some of the other challenges faced by dancers, mentioned lack of encouragement for the arts, as another major challenge.

He recalled a time when he organized a show, set entrance tickets for as low as 500 Naira, and nobody showed up! He had to go around the area and gather people, telling them the show was free! Soon enough, trust Nigerians, the hall was full!

Times are changing though, and professional dance in Nigeria, like Music, is becoming more lucrative, and generally gaining the respect it deserves.

Watch how the full interview went above.