Elizabeth O.
The dancer said when interviewed
.“A dancer can dance till the age of 80. One of the oldest dancers is in her eighties and people still watch her. There is no limit to what the human body can do. However, over time, there are some projects I would not be able to partake in anymore. I know that even when I am 60 years old, some people would still want me to perform for them. I am not only a dancer for the sake of entertainment, I use dance for therapy, fitness and wellness. For me, I’ll keep doing this business till I ‘drop’.
“When people began to like my dance, I decided to create a business out of it. I wanted to gain more knowledge about the art so I could build a dance empire into a major corporate entity. I didn’t start to dance to get validation, I just wanted to make a career out of my gift. I am happy that dancers are doing well now and making good money from the art.”
Though she has broken some records over the years, the dancer noted that things were not always rosy as she once earned as little as N3,000 for her craft. She said, “When I started dancing, the least amount I collected was between N3, 000 and N20,000. At that time, some dancers were collecting as little as N500. Some people were even dancing for free. But now, I can earn as much as N14 million. One does not get such offers on a daily basis but I no longer take as little as N100,000.00 for dancing. I only go for jobs that pay me. Shows cannot be interesting if there are no dancers to entertain the audience. Anything that is important will speak for itself through the values that it gives the system.
“For instance, until people heard what footballers were earning, they were not well valued. Therefore, dancers need to step up their games in order to be of great value. Some parents see me as a role model for their children and use me as yardstick. This really gives me joy and it has made my journey worth it. Dance has helped our music gain global acceptance too. It was a bridge and it has helped put Nigeria on the world map. However, I didn’t start dancing because I wanted to make money; it was my passion and dream.”
