Daily Independent (Lagos)
Kemi Yesufu
2 January 2009
It was a windy night, but residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) braved the chilly weather to heed the call of the management of the Cyprian Ekwensi Centre for Arts and Culture to come Dance in the City.
Thanks to Intercontinental Bank on Friday December 19, stars were born as some of Abuja's talented musicians twinkled on the brightly lit stage, set up at the quadrangle of the Cyprian Ekwensi Centre for Arts and Culture in a night that was adjudged a success, by majority of fun seekers who witnessed it.
Undoubtedly, the Cyprian Ekwensi Centre for Arts and Culture is enjoying a new lease of life after years of lying fallow. Gone are the days when the FCT's cultural house was a place where second grade events took place and bored, with artistes roamed around.
For many who came to Dancing in the City, they had a lot to thank the immediate past Minister of the FCT Dr. Aliyu Modibo for renovating the centre and putting in place a team of forward thinking technocrats to manage its affairs.
Dancing in the City, the musical show, which got the usually over-looked man on the streets, dancing is one of the innovations of the centre's new management headed by ace compere, Ronke Bello. The show, despite being free had the trappings of A-grade event. There was well decorated stage, a fantastic DJ, a secure environment and lots to bite as the venue had a number of food vendors around.
The Night began with one of Abuja's celebrated comedians, Fred Bright, welcoming fun seekers to the show. Bright, who gave a good account of himself, ensured that there was no dull moment. He introduced artistes with so much grace and regaled the crowd with jokes. The show opener was Saxophonist Jerry Sax. The man, who enjoys a large following in the capital city, had fun seekers twisting and turning with jazz versions of Asa's Jailer, T.Y. Bello's Greenland and other popular songs. Age Beeka, who almost brought the house down closely followed him with his energetic performance. Beeka, who is known for his expertise in Soft Rock, thrilled the audience with songs such as NaÔve, Girl of Dreams and Angelica. For sure, Beeka was at his best. Other up-coming acts like Sunny Man, Danny G and Anu, the only female act for the night, had their time on stage. And like the biggest masquerade that comes out last, Abuja's own Styl-Plus took the centre stage at the final act for the show. By the time the group made up of Tunde, Shifi and Zeal started singing not one seat was occupied. As the trio dished out hit after hit, fun seekers danced as they sang along. After Styl-Plus power packed performance, the DJ took music lovers present on a musical journey.
Speaking on the concert, Ronke Bello, Director of the Centre, explained why the show was organised. She said, "After the renaming of the FCT Arts and Cultural Centre as Cyprian Ekwensi Centre for Arts and Culture, it fell on the FCT administration to run a centre that lives up to the stature of Cyprian Ekwensi. We all know what Cyprian Ekwensi stood for. He stood for excellence; he stood for the best of literary works. When I got appointed as the Director of this centre six months ago, I got the direct mandate from the FCT Administration to jump-start entertainment here.
"We tagged the concert, Dancing in the City because the Cyprian Ekwensi Centre is very strategic, it is one of the most popular places in the capital city. Right in the centre of the city and our slogan The City's Pride tallies with the concept that residents of the FCT should come out here to dance in the city. We have many centres in Abuja here, but the Cyprian Ekwensi Centre is the only one owned by government, so we have to bring the people together to share love during this Christmas."
Bello told Daily Independent that with the Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement, which the Centre has with companies such as sponsors of the concert, Intercontinental Bank's shows, to discover and promote talents would soon become the norm at the Cyprian Ekwensi Centre. Said she, "It is part of our job to do talent hunt for the FCT and when we find such talents, we showcase them to the world through shows like this. We have made up our mind that we will promote up-coming Abuja artistes. The only known names that performed were Age Beeka and Styl-Plus. As you can see, we have a massive building, where we can host the best of events. The show is our way of starting a new era of entertainment. Next year, we hope to re-awaken the cinema audience in the city with our 700-seat cinema hall and our theatre where we hope to have a number of plays staged."
Sharing his views on Dancing in the City, Age Beeka gave the show a pass mark. He described the Abuja entertainment buffs as a discerning group. He called for more of events such as Dancing in the City. Beeka said, "Abuja is an interesting place, it could be quiet, but with events like this, you can say that the city is evolving.
"One thing about Abuja people is that they love to listen to music that makes sense. The Abuja crowd is choosy about what they listen to, so if you are going to bring something to the Abuja crowd it has to be reasonable, it has to be something that will make them leave the comfort of their homes to the venue of a show. When you have someone like Jerry Sax playing and you have people listening, it is definitely an impressive show."
For many who attended the first edition of the Centre's music concert, they want an encore next year. A request the management of the centre hopes to fulfill with the help of corporate bodies, come year 2009.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 Daily Independent. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
