- Published
A Nigerian dancer is attempting to dance non-stop for seven days in order to set a new world record.
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dancer → publish → record
Benjamin Daniel, known as Ben Dancer, is aiming to dance for 168 hours - 41 hours longer than the current record for the longest individual dance marathon.
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Daniel → know → marathon
Guinness World Records has yet to confirm whether the attempt qualifies as an official record.
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attempt → have → record
The BBC has contacted the organisation for comment.
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BBC → contact → comment
Young people have been gathering in recent days to cheer him on at Freedom Park in Lagos, filming his every move and dancing along from behind the barriers.
"It's a beautiful moment.
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It → gather → barriers
he has come and witnessing him achieve this feat
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him → come → feat
made me incredibly proud and grateful to God," Uche Anumudu, one of those watching, told the BBC.
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Anumudu → make → BBC
The current record is 127 hours, set by Indian dancer Srushti Sudhir Jagtap in 2023, when she was 16.
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she → set → 2023
Her performance focused mainly on kathak, one of India's major classical dance forms.
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performance → focus → forms
Ben Dancer, 33, has been dancing professionally for 18 years.
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Dancer → dance → years
His attempt began on Tuesday 22 September and, if he completes the planned 168 hours, he is due to reach his target early on Tuesday morning.
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he → begin → morning
For much of the marathon, Ben Dancer has drawn on Nigeria's rich dance traditions as well as its fast-changing internet culture.
Afrobeats has been a constant presence, alongside genres including fuji, jazz and zouk.
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Afrobeats → draw → fuji
At times, he has swapped his dance clothes for traditional Nigerian outfits, including the flowing agbada and dashiki.
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he → swap → agbada
Nigeria has more than 250 ethnic groups, with a wide range of cultural traditions.
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Nigeria → have → traditions
Ben Dancer's team says the performance is intended to reflect that diversity, rather than simply test his physical endurance.
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performance → say → endurance
His team says he underwent intensive fitness training before the attempt, changing his diet and focusing on carbohydrates and cardiovascular conditioning.
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he → say → carbohydrates
During the marathon, he has been eating lightly and drinking fluids while taking the permitted five minutes of rest for every continuous hour of activity.
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he → eat → activity
Ben Dancer has chosen to dance for several hours at a time before taking his accumulated rest.
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Dancer → choose → rest
A medical team has also been present at Freedom Park to provide assistance when needed.
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team → provide → assistance
The scene around him has become something of a street party.
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scene → become → party
Crowds of young people have gathered to cheer him on.
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Crowds → gather → him
Videos from the attempt have gone viral across social media platforms, drawing more people to the venue.
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Videos → go → venue
Moronumubo Akodu, who has repeatedly visited to support Ben Dancer, said she was impressed by his determination but worried about the physical toll.
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she → visit → toll
"It is actually insane but I am so proud of him," she told the BBC.
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she → tell → BBC
Emmanuel Ulelu, who visited the performance twice, said he noticed a striking change in the dancer's energy.
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he → visit → energy
"On day two, you could see the stress," he said.
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he → see → stress
"Even after just three hours of dancing at the location myself, I wondered how he would keep going.
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he → dance → location
"
But when he returned 16 hours into day five, he said Ben Dancer appeared more energetic than before.
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Dancer → return → day
"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.
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he → remind → it
Nigeria has also developed a strong relationship with Guinness World Records, particularly in entertainment.
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Nigeria → develop → entertainment
In 2023, Nigerian chef Hilda Baci cooked continuously for 93 hours and 11 minutes in Lagos, which Guinness officially recognised as a new record.
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Guinness → cook → record
Her achievement sparked a surge of interest in record attempts in Nigeria, even though others have since surpassed her.
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others → spark → her
Guinness says it received more than 1,500 new applications from the country within two months of her cook-a-thon, including events such as reading, singing, and crocheting.
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it → say → reading
The Aporia
