Dancing is an art -Kaffy

A Nigerian dancer, instructor and choreographer, Kafayat Shafau-Ameh, popularly known as Kaffy hit the Guinness Book of World Records for dancing 53 hrs, 30 minutes. In an interview with ADA DIKE, she sheds light on her career.

What were you into before you contested in Nokia Marathon Dance in 2006?

I was a fitness trainer and I studied fitness at school. I also run a dance school called “Imagnato Dance Company”. It offers services like teaching young people how to dance for fun or for commercial purposes. We also have older women and business class for those who want to keep fit. We also do personal training, total and general body weight loss, diet plan, and nutrition analysis, among others.

Have people been coming to enrol?

I moved to a bigger space due to the upsurge of trainee dancers.

What would you do if your husband says you must stop dancing?

Dancing is an art. It takes a personality to push an art. It is not only dancing that pushed me to where I am today but my personality. My husband will not stop me from dancing because he knows it is my career. Dancing is my first love.

Does it mean that you will never retire from this profession?

I can never stop dancing. I use it to make money and at the same time make people happy. I don’t have to be on stage at all times. I could be a choreographer.

Choreography lasts forever. A 70-years-old choreographer is still alive and working today. You teach and guide people on how to dance. It does not end on a dance floor.

There is a lot of moral guidance I can instil to people through it.

A lot of them don’t know the right thing to do to themselves. It’s a school for ethics, moral upbringing and dancing. Dancers do not go around sleeping with men.  We sometimes come across stubborn students whom we teach and reshape their lives for the society.

But dance is supposed to be a hobby for everybody. Why did you choose it as a career?

I chose it because it has become a career. People are now making money out of it. Though, it is not really about making money but about what one knows how to do. Hobbies turn to jobs. You like to write and became a journalist, if you love to cook, you will become a caterer. It is better to do what you love and channel it to humanity; you will make money because people will need your help.

If you are dancing in the house and somebody tells you that it is good and asks you, “Can you come and dance on my birthday? I will pay you some amount of money.” It will become a service and you will actually do it well because it is something you do even when you sleep and wake up. It is a career and people will pay to come and learn. Even if they are learning for professional purposes, what people don’t forget is that the state of the mind is our bank. That is where we store our wealth. If we lose our mind, we lose the ability to be productive.

Dancing helps you to relax. You can never see a dancer that is angry. You are dancing because you are releasing something from your heart. I have a lot of women who are not happy in their homes or young people who feel dejected and rejected in the society, when they come to dance, it is when everybody unites.

Dancing is an inestimable gift you cannot pay for. It is the ability to have a problem and stop thinking about it. By the time you remember that problem. Your mind will be calm. If you are crying and I ask you not to cry, you will feel relieved that somebody has comforted you.

Look at our lifestyle in Lagos, there is traffic everywhere. Electricity is bad. Water is scarce. There is nothing that can encourage you. That is why people go to clubs or shows to unwind. It is part of our lives. Forget about career now, dancing helps you to lose weight. Sometimes, normal exercise to them is boring but when they start to dance for an hour, they will forget their sorrows.

Sometimes people tell me that, “You have done a great thing in my life. Yesterday, I was feeling sad but I am happy today.” That keeps me going.

How do you handle challenges in the cause of dancing?

Oh my God! I encounter a lot of challenges. Initially, my parents didn’t really support my career because they see me as an intelligent person who may become a great engineer but she dropped engineering for dancing. But my father realised that what I have achieved through dancing wouldn’t have been possible if I have practised engineering for ten years. He is proud of me and I keep my focus.

Have there been a time you danced and the person or an organisation you danced for refused to pay your fee?

Of course! Is this not Nigeria? Business sometimes goes wrong here. I am not an aggressive person so I handle it with maturity because human beings remain when money finishes. If you lose a friend because of money, how many are you going to make without money? That is why it is necessary we learn how to relate well with people.

What was the prize you got when you won Nokia Marathon Dance in 2006?

They gave N2.5 million to our group and N1.5 million to me because I was the last man standing.

What did you do with the N1.5million?

I shared it with the group. I did not participate in it because of money but for the love of my job. Moreover, God gave me the ability to finish.

Dancers often wear shorts and see-through wears. Don’t you think they are susceptible to sexual harassment due to their costumes?

There is nothing you will wear that guys don’t approach you. Guys approach ladies workings in banks, media organisations, companies and so on. Even a male colleague can approach you.

If you are born to shine, you will shine wherever you go. People will park their cars and approach you when you are working on the street. Getting advances from men is a normal thing.

How do you handle admirers?

I handle them professionally and most of my admirers talk to me professionally. It is hard for them to talk to me anyhow due to the way I carry myself.

How do you unwind?

I read and write books, swim and play basket-ball.

Tell us about your educational background

I have a Diploma in Data processing. I have a certificate for fitness training. It’s not about certificate but about expertise and ability to get a desired result in anything you want to achieve in life. I am from Epe in Lagos State.