By Osa Mbonu-Amadi, Arts Editor

She is sleek, agile and full of energy. Ever since Yemi Olaniyan, professor of musicology at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, described the mesmerizing traditional dances of Eastern Nigerians, especially of people from Enugu axis, as “green leaves vibrating in the wind”, I have kept close watch on the musical tradition of Enugu people and their enthralling dancers. She is a bright star amongst the constellation of dancers of Atiliogwu, Nkwaumuagbogho, Achikoro, Okanga, Igede, Ikorodo, etc. She is outstanding and exceptionally visible in all the Adanta video clips on the social media.        

When I eventually met Cherechi Benedeth Anigbo, after her breathtaking performance at the Adanta Cultural Day of 30th October 2022, at Ofuobi African Centre, Independence Layout, Enugu, I said to her: “You must be a very physically fit person to dance the Enugu dance. Does one need to be as fit as a footballer to be able to dance this dance?”

She broke into a big smile and said, “no, not as fit as a footballer, because we have older women doing the dance very well. It has its own skills. Once you master those skills you don’t need the fitness of a footballer to do it.”

The Adanta Cultural Day is equivalent to an art exhibition. It was a day the group showcased all their dances to the world, and went a step further to honour with awards certain individuals who have contributed immensely to the preservation and promotion of Igbo culture.

To a casual observer, the different dances Cherechi displayed on the Adanta Cultural Day were quite entertaining. To a more analytical observer, however, the dances have deeper meanings. Like in operas (music drama), Cherechi assumed the role of a griot, telling and dramatising some important aspects of the history of her people through dances.

For instance, at the beginning of the performance, as the leader of the group, Cherechi runs across the wide arena to where the special guest of honor sat – supposedly an important traditional title holder. She stands before the guest for a split second, waiting for a cue from the lead musical instrument. As soon as the ogene began to speak, synchronising with her dancing feet, she passes the message to the guest of honor. It was a coded homage transmitted through complex dance steps. She completes the homage with a salute and bows before she heads to another direction to pay yet another homage to another important personality.

Arriving at the other end, the homage takes a different dramatic turn. She passes her message across in quick, intricate, staccato of dance steps. Then she does an open-and-close movement of her knees – an open invitation to one of the important guests, challenging him to a brief dancing competition. She must have recognised the guest as a dancer. The man picks up the challenge, stands up and spars with her for about 5 minutes, generating some of the most beautiful dance steps of the occasion. 

The observation that the dances Cherechi and her group perform have meanings deeper than what a casual observer sees is corroborated by Cherechi herself when she asserted that traditional music can take her to a place of peace and reflection: “Every note tells a story and conveys a message. Cultural dances are not just performances for me; they are rituals that connect us to our roots, to the stories of our ancestors, and to the heartbeat of a continent. Dances allow me to express emotions that are too deep for words. It is a dance of liberation, a freeing of the soul from the shackles of the mundane. It is an invitation to embrace the extraordinary.”

Cherechi is not only a skillful dancer. She is also a choreographer.  Choreography is the art of making dances, the gathering and organisation of movement into order and pattern. A person who creates dances, plans and arranges dance movements and patterns is called a choreographer.

While choreographers compose the sequences of movements that make up the dance, dancers perform the work of a choreographer. Every choreographer ought to be a dancer first, but one does not necessarily need to be a choreographer to be a dancer.

Cherechi choreographs for Adanta Cultural Group and other cultural institutions, schools and churches during their cultural activities. Together with her husband who is a lead drummer, Cherechi has choreographed for up to 15 schools and churches in Nigeria, including Regina Pacis, Abuja.  

While many traditional music and dances from South-East Nigeria like Abigolo, Nwokorobo, Alija, Ese, etc., have sadly become extinct due to lack of practise, the Enugu people have managed to retain their own traditional music and dances – the Atiliogwu, Nkwaumuagbogho, Achikoro, Okanga, Igede, Ikorodo, etc.

Originally, these different dances were performed exclusively for different occasions. The Igede dance, for instance, is a royal dance performed by traditional title holders. The Nkwaumuagboho and Ikorodo are maiden dances performed mostly during marriage ceremony in Afikpo and Nsukka areas respectively. But due to changes and innovations in the socio-cultural environment, these dances can now be performed for all social events, while still retaining their original costumes and songs.

These various African traditional music and dances that grew out of the Enugu soil have certain features in common. They are erotically rhythmic and expressed in evocative dances, mainly by beautiful young ladies like Cherechi, a child prodigy who won a dancing competition at the age of seven.

Cherechi’s group, Adanta-African Dance and Theatre Training, was founded in London, UK in 1997 by dancers and choreographers led by Mr. Sunny Nwachukwu. The organisation exists to explore and express ideas through dance, which reflect its African roots, society and way of life. The driving philosophy of the group is to create innovative work, using sources derived from traditional African culture, as well as to communicate the diversity of dance vocabulary within the continent to millions of their fans across the world.

Since it was founded in 1997, Adanta has since grown to become one of the most prominent African dance groups in Europe, and has established branches in Nigeria and satellite groups in Ghana.

Cherechi reveals that Adanta Nigeria was formed in 2010 as part of the organisation’s investment in established artists and what she calls “a continuation of a grand plan to expose Nigerian-based traditional dance practitioners to international audience through participation in events organised outside Nigeria.”

The group provides entertainment for corporate events, festivals, issue-based events and private functions.  “Our organization,” she told Vanguard, “was set up to express ideas through music, dance and drama, which reflect our Nigerian roots in particular, and our African roots, society and ways of life in general.”

Born February 20, 1990, Cherechi Benedeth Anigbo attended Obiagu Road Primary School, Enugu, between 1995 and 2001. From 2002 to 2007, she had her secondary education at Praiseland Secondary School, Enugu.

In 2009, she was admitted to the Institute of Management and Technology, IMT, Enugu, where she studied Cooperative Economics and Management. She later got admission to Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State for a Post Graduate Diploma in Education (2018-2019).

She has taught at Bishop Okoye Memorial Girls Secondary School Ukpor, Anambra State, from 2017 to 2020. Presently, she is the Artistic Director of Adanta Cultural Troupe, and also works as a finance officer at a private organisation.