DIARY OF A MODERN TUAREG

Calender 2012

2012-02-13T14:32:00.000+01:00

Calender 2012 (First Trimester) 3 - 12 January - WIP La Villette (Creative residency STILL/life) 13 January - WIP La Villette (Public Presentation STILL/life Work in Progress) 16 - 20 January - CND Pantin (Creative residency STILL/life)24 - 27 January - Theatre de l'Agora. Evry (Creative residency STILL/life)30/01 - 04/02 - CND Pantin (Creative residency STILL/life)06

2012-02-02T10:48:00.001+01:00

Le nigérian Qudus Onikeku est un homme de scène dont le corps prend pleinement la parole. Il danse comme s’il était en transe. Son énergie est impressionnante. Dans My exile is in my head, il s’inspire de l’oeuvre de l’écrivain, poète et dramaturge nigérian Wole Soyinka qui témoigne de ses années d’emprisonnement dans L’homme est mort, publié en 1972. Cette lecture résonne chez

Occupy Lekki turns violent.

2011-12-17T13:15:00.000+01:00

Eavesdrop! As at (13:00pm) The Commissioner of Police has sent out police to disperse protesters at the Lekki road toll-axis who are protesting the toll fees to start on December18th, 2011. They were dispersed to protect the damage of properties in and around the toll axis and to allow free movement of cars to avert the blockade of roads by protesters. "On scene reportage" Lagos State

On Art and the State.

2011-12-16T11:20:00.000+01:00

This sort of friday morning musing is to finally speak my mind on this issue that had played with my mind for too long... It is the issue of the State of the Art and the Art of the State.As an artist, If there are two states i'm most familiar with, that will be France and Nigeria... Obviously. But when it comes to art and the state, sure there is no much to say about Nigeria, for you to eat as

African Culture (Full) - Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael)

2011-12-06T16:37:00.000+01:00

Why Artists charge SO MUCH

2011-11-24T13:25:00.002+01:00

If you ask yourself why ARTISTS (Djs, Dancers, Singers, Actors, Musicians or other performers) charge "SO MUCH" for performances... ???Here is one answer for you - Because They don't get paid vacation, they don't get paid sick leave, they don't get bonuses for outstanding performances nor for Christmas. They don't have insurance plans nor do they qualify for unemployment and no retirement plan

ALMOST ARAB

2011-11-20T13:34:00.000+01:00

#ANECDOTE. ***ALMOST ARAB***I was in the train from La Rochel to Paris, then the train stopped in a stop after Poitier, can't really remember the name of the stop. Then the stop was getting too long than usual, so most passengers like me were worried, after about 20 minutes of waiting, the controller announced "We are sorry for the delay in departure, it is due to the fact that we are waiting for

The French society and the 'other'

2011-11-09T13:39:00.002+01:00

Few days ago my Wife was Told to take off her cap in school.I have a wife who chose to wear a cap to cover her hair, i mean a designer cap, not hijab nor anything mega, maybe out of her own sense of fashion or religious obligation or social identity, just as i am always on caps myself, and to her greatest surprise, she was outrightly told that she MUST take off her cap in school, not tomorrow but

You can Save someone's life.

2011-11-08T14:15:00.001+01:00

You can Save someone's life by sharing this.STROKE IDENTIFICATION:During a party, a friend stumbled and took a little fall - she assured everyone that she was fine and just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes. (they offered to call ambulance)They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of food - while she appeared a bit shaken up, Ingrid went about enjoying herself the rest of the

STILL / life - Qudus Onikeku

2011-11-05T16:44:00.000+01:00

I AM NOT MOVING ! OCCUPY CONSCIOUSNESS

2011-10-30T10:09:00.000+01:00

THEY SAY IT'S A FREE COUNTRY, WITH INDEPENDENT MEDIA:FOR OVER A MONTH NOW, THOUSANDS OF PROTESTERS ARE ASKING FOR A REDEFINITION OF DEMOCRACY,AND THE PSEUDO DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT IS RESPONDING WITH POLICE FORCE, AMIDST TEAR GAS AND GUNSHOTS,IN CITIES ALL ACROSS AMERICA, INCLUDING REMOTE ALASKA,AND NOT A SINGLE INTERNATIONAL NEWS AGENCY REPORTING IT.NOT CNN, NOT BBC, NOT REUTERS, ETC.WOW! IS THIS

11.11.11

2011-10-29T13:15:00.004+02:00

STILL / life - Qudus Onikeku

2011-10-18T18:20:00.001+02:00

Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker Vs Beyoncé Countdown

2011-10-11T10:19:00.000+02:00

Responce to Beyoncé | ROSAS DANST ROSAS

2011-10-11T08:06:00.000+02:00

Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker on Beyoncé:"Like so many people, I was extremely surprised when I got a message through Facebook about the special appearance of my two choreographies – Rosas danst Rosas (1983) and Achterland (1990) in Beyoncé’s new videoclip Countdown. I was asked if I were now selling out Rosas into the commercial circuit...When I saw the actual video, I was struck by the resemblance

2011-08-30T11:20:00.002+02:00

MOVING OUT OF BOUNDS.…Dance in Space, Spaces that Dance. In my other life I am an activist. I grew up in a nation that naturally makes political activists out of its citizens, a nation that might as well exist as a fictional story, a fable spun from the imagination of very strange storytellers. Nigeria is where I come from, but like most progressive living beings, where we come from is not as

STILL/life - Qudus Onikeku - Damien Jalet - IN Avignon

2011-08-30T10:28:00.000+02:00

STILL/life

2011-07-05T17:03:00.000+02:00

"Time vanished, we turned to stone.The world retreated into fumes of swampland.And the past is without reference to our identity.Why in my right to the assured presence I'm thrown aback.Towards what has never been my deed.Towards what has never been in my power or in my freedom.Towards a past that denies my right to the present.And has never come into memory."Our collective memory of an

Wisdom is like garment.

2011-06-09T11:49:00.003+02:00

Hello Friends. If my calculation is right, its been months that I haven't blogged on this facebook page... you know, when a fowl perches on a rope, the fowl will not be at rest and the rope will not rest either. Sometimes life gets so busy that you forgot to do some other important things, but when a blacksmith is striking only one spot on the iron, there must be a

Qudus Onikeku - My Exile is in my head (exerpt)

2011-05-10T09:17:00.000+02:00

RSA Animate - First as Tragedy, Then as Farce

2011-04-24T11:56:00.001+02:00

CHANGE - Towards a national life.

2011-04-16T10:10:00.001+02:00

The path to a national life of any nation - as we know it in this 21st century - is a process which infuse a new rhythm, specific to a new generation of men and women, with a new language and a new humanity. For the majority of those who are attentive to the process that led to where we are as a nation, can surmise that after 50 years of attempting nationhood through decolonisation, from

Yinka Shonibare speaks my mind

2011-04-10T12:54:00.000+02:00

Yinka Shonibare MBE: Being an Artist

2011-04-10T12:41:00.000+02:00

Episode #084: In his London studio, artist Yinka Shonibare MBE reflects on what it means for him to be an artist, how he views his occupation as a utopian pursuit, and how the lines between the personal and professional aspects of his life are blurred.Known for using batik in costumed dioramas that explore race and colonialism, Yinka Shonibare MBE also employs painting, sculpture,

Somersaulting into DISTANCE

2011-03-08T11:01:00.007+01:00

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The Riddle of Here

2011-03-08T00:09:00.000+01:00

We're looking. For something so simple.So simple, that we can't hold it inour hands. Or in our heads.So we look to him. To her.To them. To there.We look to everywhere but here.To when. To then. But not to now.It's hidden just beyond our cleverness.So we presume it's out there.But perhaps it's in here.© Nic Askew

UN CORPS EN EXIL

2011-03-04T09:36:00.005+01:00

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Dance Umbrella: My exile is in my head

2011-03-02T09:15:00.001+01:00

By Moira de Swardt: The only international piece in the Dance Umbrella is superb.Nigerian choreographer/dancer Qudus Onikeku who is now living in France, effectively in “exile” from the country of his birth, brought a beautiful work to Africa's largest and most important dance festival. Entitled “My exile is in my head” this work is sophisticated, slick and wonderfully enjoyable. The

The Artiste, His art and His audience!

2011-02-03T23:56:00.000+01:00

ME and MysELFThe Artiste, His art and His audience! MysELF: Bro, after the show last night, I realized that I have actually missed performing intheatres, before formal audience.ME: Yeah, I know you've always wanted to perform before those who are only interested inusing your performance to upgrade their hierarchy as 'high audience' now that they consideryou as 'high artiste'MysELF: ...you see you

Qudus on Global Nomad blog.

2011-02-02T10:55:00.003+01:00

Originally from Lagos, Nigeria and now residing in Paris, France, Qudus Onikeku is a Dancer, Acrobat, Choreographer, avid Blogger, first time documentary film maker and some would say, a Cultural Activist.Why are you a global nomad? For we are in the age of global tribe, that’s the only way to be an active part of the future and able to tame the panther from whatever stand point. N.E.W is the

My Exile... at Parc de la Villette

2011-01-28T09:28:00.004+01:00

A Message To Journalists

2011-01-27T09:53:00.000+01:00

DEAR JOURNALISTS OF THE WORLD,You were intrigued by us when we took on the financial sector by attacking Visa, Mastercard, and Paypal as part of Operation Payback. Many of you became enamoured with us during Operation Tunisia and applauded our efforts. Some of you are now paying close attention to Operation Algeria. We know that we have gained support from even a few of you. Those few are hoping

Charles Chaplin. The Great Dictator - speech

2011-01-25T10:18:00.001+01:00

Human conception in the context of the modern world is debased by violence in many layers, which is a fair justification that the modern man is very much conditioned by two fundamental characters. Opportunism and greed. There is no such thing as society, but a bunch of individual people, making individual choices to promote their individual well being.I'm sorry, but I don't want to be an emperor

Disney's African Diary

2011-01-25T09:14:00.000+01:00

After an uneventful voyage, we sighted Africa. The dark continent. Land of adventure. Africa the unknown. Black, foreboding, mysterious Africa.

“FRENCH ARROGANCE” : Showing tonight at the French Cultural Center – Africa.

2011-01-23T21:10:00.001+01:00

Let the image of Africa that sweets your mind correlate with the one that troubles my heart. The projection of your World on me, threatens the one i aspire to see and live in. Your Africa is a certain human condition while the one i carry in my heart is a HUMANITY.Qudus ONIKEKUIt was the 19 November 2010, in Cotonou. It’s almost two weeks that we’ve been on this very badly organised and traumatic

SPIRITUALITY: Chögyam Trungpa

2011-01-15T13:19:00.000+01:00

Happy New Year

2010-12-30T22:09:00.001+01:00

Dance IN CONTEMPORARY AFRICA 2

2010-12-23T19:06:00.000+01:00

Dance in Contemporary Africa -1

2010-12-23T18:58:00.000+01:00

Poverty Cure

2010-12-22T14:04:00.000+01:00

Do schools kill creativity?

2010-12-19T20:23:00.000+01:00

Changing Education Paradigms

2010-12-19T15:33:00.000+01:00

To be Educated is to know the TRUTH

2010-12-13T17:39:00.001+01:00

As we landed into Lagos on the 29th of November, we were invited to a panel on the next day, it’s the last day of the TRUFESTA (solo and duo dance) festival – The topic; “Empowering the younger generation through dance”. For some reasons, i had blocked my mind to a state of stillness that I won’t bother to get involved in any serious talks in such gathering. My indifference was due to the fact

Award and its Liability

2010-11-11T10:22:00.005+01:00

The scene was somewhere in the Sahel, in the ancient Malian empire to be precise, it was around 2pm, after a lot of formalities, finally Angelin Preljocaj, president of the jury picks up the microphone to announce"... and the laureate for the solo category in the 8th edition of the danse l'afrique danse is - Qudus ..."I can't remember hearing my surname and probably the title of the winning work

THE DANCE FLOOR: A DEMOCRATIC SPACE BUILT ON EMPATHY

2010-10-28T17:22:00.003+02:00

“Qudus' work has a social dimension, It is a story that seems to have links with the artist’s own life, in this sense, the work resonates as an essay in first person.” Hugo Viana (Folha de Pernambuco. Brazil)My entire life has been dedicated to finding ways of expressing some very deeply rooted expressions, which literary words had failed to capture in conventional styles. So I have learnt to be

A body in exile, a head at home.

2010-10-08T19:52:00.001+02:00

Friends all.As you all know i have been away from Nigeria since December 2009 with the pretext to create my latest work, MY EXILE IS IN MY HEAD. Many people have asked me what this title has to do with my dance? It is simple, well in my own rationality, there is no exile without a prior movement or emigration, but the concept of exile is not about

Hardly had we opened our eyes...

2010-10-06T15:33:00.001+02:00

Hardly had we opened our eyes than we saw our parents being unleashed of their grips to the basics of life. Beaten by poverty, inflation and inability to meet with their responsibilities of giving us the life every Nigerian child deserves, in psychiatric terms, we were "traumatized." Most of my mate were in primary school as of June 12 1993, or just getting into high school. Though we couldn't

MY EXILE is in my head

2010-09-17T11:03:00.000+02:00

MY EXILE IS IN MY HEAD Inspired by Wole Soyinka’s prison notes - "THE MAN DIED." Conception, choreographed and performed by Qudus ONIKEKU. Original music performed live by Charles Amblard. Video conception and performance Isaak Lartey. Light designer Guillaume Fesneau. Production : YK Projects Coproduction : Le CENTQUATRE and CULTURESFRANCE with the support of: Centre

RSA Animate - The Empathic Civilisation

2010-09-15T21:30:00.000+02:00

Nigeria: Fast food nation

2010-09-13T08:29:00.003+02:00

MENU LIST - Big McAbacha with Cheese, IBB Free Milkshakes,Obj Chicken Nuggets, Pomo on the run andMugu Muffins. McNigeria - HAVE A TASTE OF HELL !"Fast food" is generally referred to as food that is prepared in quantity by a standardized method and can be dispensed quickly at inexpensive restaurants for eating there or take away, which is widely considered as a trait peculiar to the United States

DO WE BURN THIS QURAN WITH LOVE, STRENGTH OR FAITH ?

2010-09-09T12:47:00.000+02:00

What does it really take in recent times to get the world listening to us, not that some really have anything sensible to say, in fact, i think the stupider the better, because they've realized that we no longer under estimate the power of stupid people getting along. As Nigerians, our national anthem calls us all to rise and serve our father land with “love” and “strength” and “faith.” This

My trouble with Contemporary African dance

2010-09-08T12:34:00.002+02:00

Dance in Africa has since been expressed in many interpretive styles and techniques, but now, in this post-modern day, there are two types of contemporary dance in contemporary Africa; the European-inspired and the non-European-inspired. The former is also known as contemporary African dance while the latter is simply contemporary dance. This magical aggregation takes me back to the wonders

Youth and Culture as the mechanism for Africa’s development

2010-09-01T05:20:00.004+02:00