Guild Of Nigerian Dance Practitioners, Lagos Chapter, is in celebration as this year 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the International Dance Council (CID), which is the official umbrella organization for all forms of dance in all countries of the world.
The CID is a non-governmental organization founded in 1973 within the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, where it is based.
By virtue of the anniversary, this year’s message from CID sheds light on what the organization does not represent. It is accurate to point out here that the Guild shares a lot of similarities with the CID, because as bodies established for upholding the dignity and sanctity of dance profession, they are saddled with other responsibilities that often times gets them misunderstood by many.
Like the CID, the Guild is the official umbrella association for all forms of dance in Nigeria. It is also a non-governmental organization founded in 1995 by the sheer will and determination of dance practitioners who had to take their freedom from oppression by force and thereby gained the respect of their oppressors during the 1995 African Youth Soccer Championship tournament hosted by Nigeria.
The Lagos Chapter in its message signed by Ugonwa D. Obiayo, Esq
Chairman of GONDP (Lagos chapter), states that, "Now we know- the Guild was established on the backs of those who realised then that dance was majorly regarded more as a hobby than a profession, and dance artistes were also treated far less than they deserved as professionals. It became necessary for them to act then or forever lose the opportunity to give dance a fighting chance as a career profession that was worthy to be taken seriously by all.
"While it was being established, the Guild had to go through different stages of development that were aimed at bringing it to being. These stages included, but not limited to drafting a constitution to guide its dealings, formulate policies, establish its congress, encourage dancers to become members, provide structure (physical and administrative), engage with
authorities (governmental and non-governmental) and many more.
"As a newly established association at the time, there were very high expectations on it from its members and affiliates, and while the Guild on its part tried very hard to meet these stakes, it faced the challenges of laying founding principles on what it stood for, and what its responsibilities and expectations were at the time and for the future.
In other words, what it does and does not do."
The chairman's message took time to explain that, GONDP is not a dance company or dance academy that teaches dance education, it does not
organize events, does not sell anything, so it does not compete with its members- rather, it promotes their works and help them upgrade it.
"GONDP is not a political body and does not belong to any political party. It does not have a permanent leadership, because it holds elections every four years, where all duly registered and card bearing members vote. GONDP supports leadership development in its members, caters to all genres of dance, and encourages affiliations with other genres of theatre for personal and professional development. GONDP set up “Dance Forums” and lead Coordinators in nearly a dozen communities across Lagos. The aim was to achieve seamless multiple results at the best possible times, whereby the
Guild’s administration would be able to reach dancers, create better relations, interactions and communication, while also encouraging them to explore, engage and develop themselves and their communities.
"GONDP promotes the dignity of dance as a profession and protects the integrity of dance practitioners by promulgating guiding principles that will uplift all in every way possible. This unique approach to leadership constitutes the power of GONDP, because it treats dance professionals as real members who are empowered to do more and beyond limitations and expectations. Its members are all directly linked to the Guild’s administration.
"GONDP is a hybrid of old and new generation of leaders and members, ideas and ideals, principles and beliefs, yet, they all walked and are still walking the paths of transforming an impossible idea to a living, thriving and relentless institution. Today, we are a testament of generations of those efforts, because dance has become a fundamental aspect of human life,
style, culture and existence.
"As we celebrate another Dance Day, let us remember the sacrifices that have gone into building what we have today, and continue to safeguard and secure jealously our dance profession, our Guild and our industry.
Happy Dance Day!" Ugonwa Obiayo added.
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