Egedege Dance is one of the most renowned traditional dance outfits and an Igbo traditional Royal-styled

cultural Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human Society, societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, and habits of the ...

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

in the whole of South Eastern Nigeria. Founded in 1985, it is a reincarnation of an old version originally performed by the

ancestor An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder or a forebear, is a parent or (recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from whom ...

s of the present-day Unubi. In those days, it was a moonlight dance, performed by youths. It has however been remodeled to fit modern trends. Their performance is a combination of songs, dance, Instrumentation and colorful traditional outfits. Their performance is introduced by elaborate fluting which is the entrance cue that heralds the group, led by the queen. The singing only begins when the queen reaches the stage and takes the microphone. She arrives under a big umbrella, carried by one man, with another fanning her from behind. She sings but sometimes dance to the rhythm of the instrument. Egedege dance was made popular by Mrs Theresa Onuorah in Unubi Town. She is happily married and lives in Unubi. The name Egedege stems from a local slang for richness and bravery which explains why the dance is considered

Cultural classics Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Ty ...

and are only played in a royal homes or rich families.

Form and structure

The leader of the Unubi Egedege dance group is their queen,

Queen Theresa Onuorah Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mothe ...

. She is the chief vocalist and is sometimes supported by backup singers. There are also dancers who contribute to make Egedege very popular. The dance became popular with audiences via their hit singles, live performances, originality and showmanship in important occasions from the 1980s onwards and has been renowned by the royal-like representation display by the lead singer.

Symbol of Igbo culture

The dance which was popularized by Queen Theresa Onuorah as the leader of Egedege dance of Africa has helped in promoting the

mosaic of the Igbo cultural heritage. The tempo of the egedege dance matches the tempo of the music, which is dependent on the beat of the drum, "ogene," a metal gong instrument, Udu, ekwe and flutes and other local instruments. In recent times, more artists have variation of the dance with a common traits of heavy traditional royal costumes. It should also be noted that lyrics of the songs often time besides entertaining also address

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Performance

Egedege Dance groups perform mainly at Igbo cultural festivals and high-profile event. Sometimes the dance groups are called to perform, during funerals, marriage ceremonies or other official government occasions.

Costume

The queen is dressed in an expensive and elaborately designed and decorated robe, held at the waist by ten strings of beads. Her crown is of bronze, overlaid with ostrich feathers. Many more beads adorn her neck. In her hands, she holds a horsetail and a bronze staff. The dancers and instrumentalists are dressed uniformly in raffia waist shrouds and arm bands, calf and ankle jingles, several bead necklaces, around their heads, they wear red ribbons. The major overall color impressions are red and white.

References

{{Igbo topics, state=collapsed Igbo culture Igbo society