Qudus Onikeku

A dancer, acrobat, choreographer, and widely known in Nigeria’s cultural and artistic circles as well as among a whole new generation of African creators, he was born in the Local Government Area of Surulere in Lagos and graduated in Dance and Acrobatics from the École National Superieur des Arts du Cirque, France, in 2009. His dance is notable for its embracing of elements of Nigerian traditions, hip hop, capoeira, acrobatics and other contemporary vocabularies. This multifaceted style is complemented with features of Yoruba culture and other African performative traditions through which Onikeku explores such relevant issues as colonialism, exile, and political instability. Since the beginnings of his career as a solo artist in 2004 he has worked in many parts of the world, among them Latin America, Europe, and the Caribbean, and also with well-known artists like Heddy Maalem, Cristopher Abdul Onibasa, and Mouise Touré. His piece, Spirit Child, is a solo work based on Ben Okri’s Booker Prize-winning novel The Famished Road, was premiered in Köln in June 2019.