Kaffy Unveils 40th birthday plans, The Dance Workshop and Conference 2020

Ace Nigerian Dance artist, Kafayat Shafau-Ameh also known as Kaffy has unveiled plans to mark two major personal and professional milestones at the fifth edition of The Dance Workshop and Conference scheduled for May 27 to 30th in Lagos at Landmark Event Centre, Oniru, Lagos.

Kaffy is in high spirits to celebrate her 40th birthday and 20th year on the dance stage. The dance art icon officially turns 40 on June 30th, 2020 but will mark her birthday early at her yearly conference that brings together stakeholders in dance from within and outside Nigeria.

Setting the tone for what is an exciting year at a Media Parley in Lagos, Kaffy unveiled plans to feature over 40 keynote speakers and panelists comprising key industry leaders and and 20 international Choreographers and Creative Directors. The climax of the event would be a mega dance concert tagged The Rise of the Phoenix sandwiched with the launch of her self-help book collections.

Through the platform of The Dance Workshop and Conference, kaffy has consistently channeled an expression to connect with young talents and building various capacities within the dance art ecosystem. According to her, the event will open on May 27 with a special session to harness talents among children in commemoration of World Children’s Day. Participants would be drawn from schools around Lagos. Focus shifts for the next two days to business development, wealth creation and capacity building for the youths. Drawing a curtain on the four-day fiesta is a special 40th birthday tribute dance concert to be preceded by an industry award ceremony.

To underline her vision, Kaffy explained, “Dance can change lives, that is why I created the idea of a conference and called it ‘The Dance Workshop and Conference (TDWC) Africa. We needed an atmosphere whereby we can have conversations with multiple sectors of the economy, and bridge the gap between the informed and the uninformed, to say this is all the information on how you can use your talent to create wealth for you.

“To make it amazing, this year, I'm going to be 40. I'm still strong. Also, I will be marking 20 years of being on stage in this industry, sacrificing, pushing, crying, pulling and being victorious about one thing; dance. So this year, we are scaling it higher, that has led to us extending TDWC to four days instead of three.

She added, “The three days will include activities such as workshops, conference, trade fair, while the fourth day is the concert. The concert is what we call the Rise of the Phoenix. The phoenix is a bird who rose from ashes and is on flames, and it burns through everything. Ever since I was a kid, I've always seen myself and everything as a fire. So right now, it’s not just a fire that burns through me, I'm now the fire. I’m ready to burn through anything and to build anything. As long as this nation is concerned. Nigeria is one of the greatest nations in the world.”

Lending their voices, Ukalina Opuwari, TDWC Co-Instructor and CEO Boogie B Entertainment and Ice Nweke, Artist Director commended Kaffy for her foresight. Ukalina said, “It's a shame that we are not appreciated as much as other sectors of the entertainment industry, but there is one thing I believe collaboration is everything. What I know about Kaffy is that she has tried her very best to bring people together to say let's do this and I appreciate the energy. The dance workshop and conference was an eye-opener and a lot of people had their voices heard. So I'm looking forward to this year's because I think it's going to be fantastic. we are going to make history.”

Nweke had been an instructor at TDWC since inception. He gave more insights, “There is something amazing about the story of TDWC Africa. The first edition we did was huge at a big hall that most big brands use. But a dancer, locked down that space, taught kids several things like painting, hairdressing, dance, textile etc. It was amazing. We started TDWC big as dancers though people normally advice that you start small. But because dance is an industry that needs to be reckoned with, we changed the narrative. When you go back in history, we learnt that dance and singing were the early form of artistic expressions by Africans and manhood in general. Dance has a rich history and has come to stay. Believe me, we can only get bigger. Next year, we can have decided to take up Tafawa Balewa Square for a week because we are here to stay. That is what TDW is here for.”

Nice one

I thought she was turning 38. Wow, her husband is a mere 28 or 29 years old. Some men have mind, o. I realized many years ago that although athletic ability transfers its way to the bedroom, it’s not a guarantee the person will have the skill to satisfy a partner. Maybe she has the latter equation covered.