Ifure Ufford-azorbo

Form and Content of Canoe Dance Theatre of the Peoples of Niger Delta Ifure Ufford-azorbo

Dance being an ephemeral art has been under-represented in cultural criticism. Despite its symbolic status as a cultural, environmental and aesthetic unifier amongst the Niger Delta ethnic groups, the Canoe Dance has only been studied strictly as dance and in fragments: as regatta, paddle and land Canoe Dances of Delta and Cross River States. This study, therefore, investigated the form and content of Canoe Dance with the view to justifying its multi-ethnic pervasiveness and its all-embracing theatrical nature. The study is based on an instantaneous meeting and intermingling of performers and audience in restructuring social realities. Canoe Dance is a conglomeration of artistry, utilising movement, music, dramatisation, recitation and design to recreate the prevalent environmental context. Adequate training of dance practitioners for balance in theory and practice, and evolving standardised method of dance documentation is recommended.