After Re:INCARNATION, Nigerian choreographer Qudus Onikeku returns to the Romaeuropa Festival with TERRAPOLIS, the final part of his trilogy. The piece combines dance, music, fashion, and visual arts, blending the aesthetics of Yorùbá culture with the dynamics of contemporary youth culture. With a cast of 16 artists from diverse cultural and disciplinary backgrounds, TERRAPOLIS explores the relationships between human beings and the land they inhabit. At the heart of the creation is Yorùbá culture, with its rituals, spirituality, and philosophy, which enrich the performance with evocative sounds, movements, and images. On stage, dance interacts with live music and fashion, creating a visual and sonic experience reflecting the modern world’s contradictions and possibilities for change. A visceral energy animates the scene, where the body and music become vessels for telling a reality in constant transformation, shaped by the interplay between past, present, and future.
Qudus Onikeku is an internationally recognized artist, researcher, and innovator, using art to positively impact society. Over the past decade, he has become one of the most versatile artists, working in performance, research, installation, curating, and community organizing. His work explores body movements, kinesthetic memory, and disruptive practices, creating performances that don’t rely on Eurocentric approaches but respect and challenge Yoruba culture and African diaspora dance forms. After studying in France in 2009, he founded YK Projects in Paris, creating critically acclaimed works. In 2014, he returned to Lagos with his partner Haji, and together they co-founded QDance Center, a creative incubator for artistic development and community engagement. His work has been presented in 59 countries, including Venice Biennale, Festival d’Avignon, Romaeuropa, and TED Global.
Artistic Director/Choreographer: Qudus Onikeku
DANCERS: Okolo Angela, David Emmanuel, Abok Ezekiel, Eze Gift, Felix Ruth, Okilo Grace, Oba Ugochukwu, Man Cynthia, Igben Vessy, Sarki Linda, Tyese Jatto
Music Director: Olatunde Obajeun
Music Consultants: Jumoke Oke, Ifagbenusola Owomide Popoola
MUSICIANS: Fabiyi Abiodun, Oyebisi Oluwatosin, Lawrence Simeon, Onikeku Abdulquyyum, Ochei Peters Marie
Light Designer: Michel Abdallah
Costumier: Ochei Peter Marie
Stage Manager: Isaac Lartey
Production Manager: Hajarat Alli
Production: The QDance Company
Coproduction: La Ferme du Buisson, Romaeuropa.
