Rasheed Ridwan is a Nigerian-born multidisciplinary artist. The Bariga, Lagos, raised artiste’s parents are from Oyo State. He acquired informal training in indigenous dancing and other genres through many years of studying and performing with the Footprint of David Art Academy.

Ridwan began performing African indigenous dance at the age of five. However, his first public performance was at age six as a dancer in his training academy.

After a broad knowledge on indigenous dance, which provided him a platform for innovations and a diverse range of work through collaboration with artistes from other disciplines, ranging from theatre to literature, film, visual arts and music, he now works with a redefined style and approach to dance for the next generation.

The choreographer says he emulates and explores the relationship between different cultures and creative disciplines. He works with world-class musicians, choreographers and directors from Germany, New York, USA and Poland, who have helped in bringing the opposing worlds of tradition and innovation face to face in what he does

Ridwan believes that his dance is a message as well as a history archived and coined into bodily movement to express his background. Through his work, he tries to create a bridge that connects the past and the digital present.

“I am particularly interested in how the new generation of Nigerian dancers continues to make a new shape to the depth of dance and the possible future it beholds. I hope to develop, improve and build a sustainable platform for contemporary art in Nigeria.”

He continues, “coming from a less privileged area, I am mostly inspired by the theme of my challenges; of pain, of struggles, religious and social-political in birth of a new positive revolution.”

He added, “I have participated in major exhibitions and festivals across the world, including Afropean Festival in Frankfurt (Germany), Israel Festival Jerusalem, Impulse Theatre Festival in Cologne, Dokumentartage Festival Basel, Tanzpreis Award Ceremony in Essen, Dance Gathering in Lagos, Frascatti
Festival in Amsterdam. He is also a supporting lecturer at the Footprints of David Art Academy and Head of training for students from different universities in Nigeria.”

Between 2015 and 2016, he was involved in a protest dance theatre performance on societal stratification and marginalisation of some suburban areas of Lagos, Nigeria, on basic infrastructures.

Sorry, an award-winning dance theatre collaboration project between the ‘Footprints of David (Nigeria) and Monster Truck (Germany), “is created sarcasm between Europe and Africa, which was funded by the German Cultural Centre.”

He choreographed Amuwo (Initiation) to interrogate the creative space and provide narratives that deepen the indigenous and contemporary dance.

“It is a contemporary dance piece on the importance of initiations and focusing more on the layers of pain, sacrifices and rigour that go along with every process of initiation. While we reawaken the needful but gainful perseverance in initiation, it’s an expression to growth and development,” he said.

In 2021, he was a choreographer/dancer of the piece, Ninu Aye. “The derivation of the name was on purpose after discovering a lot about life. Ninu Aye literally translates to (inside life). We are using this piece to shed more light on happenings, coming from one of the deepest which is trafficking. This was a commission work for the Future of Dance,” he said.

From 2022 to date, he has been co-choreographer/dancer for the project We Are Going To Mars. The choreographic concert follows the two video works of the same name by the company Christoph Winkler, which celebrated their online premiere in November 2021.

In a mixture of video, dance and music, the participating artists examined the history of the first African space programme in Zambia and its reception over the past 50 years. They also built a bridge to the work of the Afro-American musician Sun Ra, who developed his credo “Space is the place” at the same time.

He was also co-choreographer/dancer for the piece, Radical Minimal, which seeks new perspectives on the interplay between minimal music, contemporary dance and diversity.

To this end, the artistes will examine three well-known, classically abstract pieces of minimal music and reinterpret them using their own, thematically oriented choreographies by Christoph Winkler Company, Germany, 2022.

Residency with Lois Alexander and Oluwafemi Adebajo on a cultural exchange project, Berlagos and Bodies of Waters (Lagos And Berlin) funded by Neu Start Kultur, Senatsverwaltung Fur Kultur Und Europa. He also enjoys a grant from Company Christoph Winkler for the climate change project.

Ridwan has worked with some international art makers such as Seun Awobajo, Segun Adefila, Christoph Winkler, Adedayo Liadi [Ijodee], Aloali Tapu, Qudus Onikeku, Anthon Lachky, Sahar Rahimi, Lois Alexander, Sophie Prins, Vadin Epstein, Raha Nejad and Onye Ozuzu.

His latest piece, Come Out, ”is part of Radical Minimal and is based on the composition of the same name by Steve Reich. The starting point of this composition is the testimony of a young African-American man named David Hamm, who was mistreated by the police.”