Qudus Onikeku

Onikeku lived in France for a while before returning to Lagos to found Q-Dance Company and Dance Gathering Lagos.^[5][6] He has performed a number of local and international shows, including We Almost Forgot which has been showcased in Berlin and Lagos.^[7]

His work takes its influence from the Yoruba traditional culture^[8] "combining it with several other influences such as the guiding philosophies of hip hop, capoeira, and contemporary dance, to weave a certain understanding of the human condition."^[9] Onikeku's my exile is in my head was named as the laureate of the solo category at the Danse L’Afrique Danse 2010 in Bamako.^[10]

Qudus Onikeku organizes the yearly Afropolis Festival, which he describes as an “African diaspora-focused festival.”^[11][12] In 2026, he was conferred with the title “Eyan Akinkanju/Hero of Egbaland” by Egbagalinza, alongside thirty-nine others shaping Yoruba people culture.^[13]

• Re:INCARNATION premiered in 2021.^[14]
• SPIRIT CHILD premiered in Cologne in June 2019.^[15]
• IYAMI premiered on 17 December 2018.^[16]
• YUROPA premiered in Bremen in June 2018.^[17]
• RAINMAKERS created for the 2018 TEDGlobal in Tanzania, and since performed severally in Nigeria.^[18]
• A BRIEF MOMENT OF TRUTH created for the 2017 TEDLagos.^[19]
• WE ALMOST FORGOT 2016 creation, premièred in Berlin, Lagos and Abuja, and Paris.^[20]
• QADDISH premiered on 6 July 2013 with several tours around Europe.^[21]