Nigerian dancer and choreographer Qudus Onikeku tells Diane Parkes how his new show Re:INCARNATION brings the vibe of his home city of Lagos to Salford
The Nigerian megalopolis of Lagos is massive, youthful and exciting. Due to become the world’s biggest city by the turn of the century, it is one of the beating hearts of Africa. And this autumn the spirit of Lagos comes to UK stages in a dance show by Nigeria-based The QDance Company.
Created by Lagos-born dancer and choreographer Qudus Onikeku, Re:INCARNATION is inspired by the city, its people, its past and its present.
Following its UK premiere at London’s Southbank Centre, the production comes to The Lowry, Salford on 8 & 9 October. Featuring ten dancers and two musicians, it promises to be a rich exploration of one of the world’s most fascinating cultures.
“Lagos is very much captured in the show,” says Qudus, whose work has been showcased across the globe. “The energy of Lagos, the vibrancy, the youthfulness, the craziness, the madness, the beauty, the ugliness – are what I was really inspired by.
“This is a show that was created in Lagos, and it is showcasing the young energy encapsulated in the city with a lot of joy and a lot of colour.”
Re:INCARNATION combines a live soundtrack featuring West African music genre Afrobeats with dynamic dancing – contemporary, salsa, hip hop and street styles wacking and krump. Vivid masks and costumes and colour-soaked lighting complete the picture. For Qudus, all the elements are fundamental to creating a successful spectacle.
“I try as much as I can to involve the artists, whether it’s the costumier, the lighting designer, the sound artist, the dancers or the scenographer, in a collective creative process where we also highlight the authenticity and originality of each individual,” he says.
In Re:INCARNATION Qudus is exploring how young people fuse life today with influences from the past.
He is connecting that spirit of youth with the ancient philosophy of the Yoruba people, who have lived in Nigeria for centuries.
“The notion of dying and rebirth, and dying and rebirth again, in a continuous circle of reincarnation, is more or less what I wanted to capture in the show. The young dancers, despite their seeming disconnection with ancient philosophies, are in fact reproducing the codes and forms of the past without being conscious of it.
“The Yoruba don’t believe in life after death, they believe in different cycles of life, different types of incarnations. An experience doesn’t need to be in one lifetime, it could be in cycles of lifetimes. We try to remember that when we do a performance.”
Qudus trained in France but returned to Lagos in 2014, establishing the social enterprise The QDance Center and building a reputation for new and exciting work. Re:INCARNATION was premiered in France in 2021 and has toured extensively since then.
“One amazing thing about this show is that whether we are in Europe or America or Africa, people connect to it in a very interesting way,” he says. “Maybe that’s because it was created after Covid and Black Lives Matter and there was a certain kind of openness and an awareness of alternative philosophies or ideologies.
“Also Instagram and TikTok have done a good job in popularising dance and music forms coming from West Africa so it feels like we are adding into a tradition that is already ahead of us.”
Qudus is looking forward to the show’s tour to nine UK cities which is presented by Dance Consortium, a group of 19 large-scale venues with a shared passion for bringing the best global contemporary dance to Britain and Ireland.
“We are very excited about Re:INCARNATION coming to the UK,” he says. “It is a country that has a long history with Nigeria and Nigerian culture. So this work becomes an addition to that palette, or archive, of Nigerian artists and artforms which have been able to make a significant presence in the UK.
“I’m talking about the likes of Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Fela Kuti, Ben Okri, Chris Ofili. These are people that I consider to be like kin. To be in the spaces where they have been seen and heard is really an honour for me.”
Qudus first toured the UK as a solo performer in 2012 returning in 2015, and the country holds a special place for another reason – shopping!
“The UK always feels like home. I never knew how many similarities there were between Lagos and London before I went to London. I love the shopping, I love going to the pound stores – I always find something interesting there!
“Also I’ve always read my books in English, so every time I’ve had the opportunity to go to the UK, I go to book stores a lot. I love the Caribbean music – I have been there for the Notting Hill Carnival.”
And he is eager to share Re:INCARNATION with British audiences.
“It’s a show that is quite multi-faceted but one thing that I know people have always got out of it is this vibrancy, this young energy that we are bringing. It’s a shared moment of beauty and vivacity and I hope that we can add joy to our world.”