Most Dancers Use Drugs, Don\’t Have Health Insurance

Kaffy

Popular dancer, Kaffy has said that majority of dancers use drugs and engage in other lifestyle which displays irresponsibility.

She disclosed this during a virtual summit organized by her non-governmental organisation, Kreative Arts Foundation for Youths and some industry stakeholders.

Kaffy said, “More than 98 per cent of dancers don’t have health insurance and self-awareness. The majority lead a lifestyle of drugs, peer pressure, poor mental wellbeing, and personal irresponsibility. This is the bane of the industry. Until every corporate dance leader is saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that every staff (dancer) has a valid health insurance cover.”

Kaffy said that the dance industry in Nigeria is not structured and that most dancers didn’t go through the proper channel.

She added, “The dance industry is largely unstructured for many reasons. Firstly, the low level of entry into the industry is a problem. The art of dance in Africa is appreciated even when one is not a professional. Because of this, many young people don’t go through the proper channels of training. Many dancers operate from the place of talent alone and do not harness the skills or improve in areas they should by going to dance schools. We may not have enough dance academies in the country, but there are (some out there). A lot of young people form groups based on the common interest of dancing.

“In my case, when I started, I thought of the services I wanted to provide. I immediately looked into registering a company and structuring it as one though I was dealing with the challenge of getting people to understand contracts and other issues.”

She also revealed that her children are also into dancing which they love very much.

She said, “Yes, my kids are taking interest in dance. I don’t force them to but it’s what they see around. They love dance because it is what they met in the family. As to whether they would be dancers in future, I don’t have an idea. They may grow out of it but it is one skill they would possess for the rest of their lives.”