yudi-kurniawan
A Nigerian dancer is attempting to dance continuously for seven days in a bid to set a new Guinness World Record, drawing crowds of supporters to a public park in Lagos as his every move is streamed and shared across social media.
Benjamin Daniel, who performs under the name Ben Dancer, is aiming to stay in motion for 168 hours — a target that would exceed the current record for the longest individual dance marathon by 41 hours. The existing record of 127 hours was set in 2023 by Srushti Sudhir Jagtap, an Indian dancer who was 16 years old at the time and whose performance centred largely on kathak, one of India's major classical dance forms.
Guinness World Records has not yet confirmed whether the attempt will be officially recognised. The BBC said it had contacted the organisation for comment, and verification typically involves a review of evidence including witness statements, time-stamped footage and compliance with the specific rules governing each record category.
Ben Dancer, 33, has spent 18 years dancing professionally. His attempt began on Tuesday 22 September and, should he complete the full 168 hours, he is expected to reach his target in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Since the marathon got under way, young people have been gathering at Freedom Park in Lagos to cheer him on, filming his performance and dancing along from behind the barriers. The scene around the venue has taken on the atmosphere of a street party, with videos from the attempt going viral online and drawing ever larger numbers of people to the site.
"It's a beautiful moment. Seeing how far he has come and witnessing him achieve this feat made me incredibly proud and grateful to God," Uche Anumudu, one of those watching, told the BBC.
Throughout the attempt, Ben Dancer has drawn heavily on Nigeria's diverse dance traditions as well as the country's fast-moving internet culture. Afrobeats has been a constant element of his set, alongside genres including fuji, jazz and zouk.
At various points he has exchanged his dance clothes for traditional Nigerian attire, including the flowing agbada and the dashiki. Nigeria is home to more than 250 ethnic groups with a wide array of cultural traditions, and his team says the performance is designed to reflect that diversity rather than merely test his physical limits.
Preparation for the marathon was intensive, according to his team. He underwent fitness training before the attempt, adjusting his diet to emphasise carbohydrates and focusing on cardiovascular conditioning to sustain him through the week.
During the event itself, he has eaten lightly and consumed fluids while taking advantage of the five minutes of rest permitted for every continuous hour of activity. Rather than stopping every hour, Ben Dancer has chosen to dance for several hours at a stretch before drawing on his accumulated rest time. A medical team has been stationed at Freedom Park to provide assistance if required.
Supporters have described a visible shift in his condition over the course of the week. Moronumubo Akodu, who has visited repeatedly to back the dancer, said she was struck by his determination while remaining concerned about the physical cost.
"It is actually insane but I am so proud of him," she told the BBC. Emmanuel Ulelu, who attended the performance twice, said he noticed a marked change in Ben Dancer's energy levels. "On day two, you could see the stress," he said. "Even after just three hours of dancing at the location myself, I wondered how he would keep going."
When Ulelu returned 16 hours into day five, however, he found the dancer looking more energetic than before. "It reminded me that we're capable of doing unbelievable things when how badly we want something matches and surpasses the difficulty of achieving it," he said.
The attempt comes amid a broader surge of interest in record-breaking feats in Nigeria, a country that has developed a notably strong relationship with Guinness World Records, particularly in the entertainment sector. In 2023, Nigerian chef Hilda Baci cooked continuously for 93 hours and 11 minutes in Lagos, an achievement Guinness officially recognised as a new record.
Her cook-a-thon ignited widespread enthusiasm for similar attempts, even though others have since surpassed her mark. According to Guinness, more than 1,500 new applications were submitted from Nigeria within two months of her effort, covering activities ranging from reading and singing to crocheting.
If Ben Dancer's attempt is verified, it would represent the latest high-profile entry in that wave of Nigerian record bids, and would extend the country's growing reputation for endurance-based challenges rooted in public spectacle and social media attention. For now, his supporters in Lagos are waiting to see whether he can carry his performance through to the final hours of the seventh day.
Comments (0)