MDA7 hots up…As families keep winning strategies close to their chests

 

The stage is now set for the spectacular climax of Maltina Dance All (MDA), the popular family television show which started airing across the country on September 1. Five families – The Ebute, Briggs, Ibrahim, Enweribe and Ikumoinein families – will hit the stage as they battle for the crown of Nigeria’s number one dancing family.
N6 million and a brand new car are at stake in today’s showdown. The first and second runners up will also get N1 million and N500, 000 respectively. Nigerians will decide the winning family tomorrow by sending a SMS with their favourite family to 30380.

The show, which is sponsored by Maltina, a premium non-alcoholic malt brand from the stable of Nigerian Breweries Plc has for the last seven years been providing the platform to train Nigerian youths and families in the art of dancing. One unique feature of this year’s edition is the introduction of dance styles from the 1960s to date hence the title, “The Evolution” of dance.

Season seven of the competition opened with regional auditions in Abuja, Port-Harcourt, and Lagos. The first day of the two day auditions were used to reward consumers from ages five to sixty, while the second day is usually set aside to select individual family representatives who will perform with his family, and if they meet all the necessary medical requirements of fitness are admitted into the Maltina Academy where they will compete with ten other families for the grand prize.

The essence of the show is to lay credence on the creative and intellectual bent of the art of dancing. To this end, the brand goes the extra mile to bring both local and foreign based professional and intellectual dancers to train the ten families that make it into the Maltina Academy every year.

Mrs. Ngozi Nkwoji, Senior Brand Manager, Maltina stated that building any brand is a very long journey, “We are glad with where we are with Maltina today. We are very excited about the seventh season of MDA, seven years is a long time for a show to still be relevant and we’re very glad Maltina through MDA continues to bring the brand experience of sharing happiness and fun to the consumer.

We put a lot of work into it and every year there is something bigger and better. What we are doing with Maltina Dance All is to ‘share happiness’ and to also create more emotional connection with consumers because families and dance are two winning components in the Nigerian environment. Maltina is continuously nourishing millions of Nigerians. It’s still the most fortified malt drink in the market. It’s also the biggest malt brand in the market. For this year 2013, we already have MDA seven ‘The Evolution’; we also shared happiness this year at the Lagos Carnival. We have a couple of surprises for our consumers as the year goes by”

It was an emotional night at the first eviction showdown as two families - Dosa and Clement families – became the first two families to be evicted from the number one family dance TV show in Nigeria. The show, which started airing on September 1, 2013, opened with dance performances from the 60s-70s and 80s-90s. After the first dance performance from the 60s-70s the Dosa and Clement families were put up for possible eviction. The Asiyefia and Ebute families later joined them for possible eviction after the 80s-90s dance performance.

As is the custom in the Maltina Academy, the four families had to perform the two dances from the 60s-70s and 80s-90s in order to put their acts together and convince the judges that they have the capacity of going the extra mile. The eviction showdown started with the Ebute family dancing to the 1978 song Le Freak by Chic; then the Asiyefia performed the 1979 song Ring my bell by Anita Ward; the Clement family did the 1978 song I will survive by Gloria Gaynor and the Dosa family ended the first part of the show with the 1977 hit song Staying Alive by the Bee Gees.

At the second eviction showdown which featured  Our Own dance performance – a dance style that incorporate Nigerian unique dance styles like Alanta, Azonto, Etighi etc – and Wazobia dance styles, the Asiyefia and Enweribe families were put up for possible eviction. The Ekado and Ebute families joined the two families for possible eviction after the Wazobia performance. In the battle to remain in the academy, the four families had to perform the two dance styles to prove to the judges that they still have what it takes to remain in the academy.

The Wazobia dance performance – a dance style that incorporate Nigerian’s indigenous dances - started with the Enweribe family dancing to the Sato dance from Badagry, Lagos State; the Ekado family performed the Uyai dance from Akwa-Ibom while the Ebute and Asiyefia families performed the Sharo dance from Sokoto, Sokoto State.

The judges were impressed with the hard work and effort each family made by fine tuning their various dance routines to prove that they wanted to retain their stay in the Academy. However, one family had to be evicted and after much deliberation the Asiyefia family was asked to leave.

During the third and final eviction showdown, the Ekado and Ebenezer families were evicted in an emotion laden episode which witnessed some of the best and determined dances the show has ever seen. But the judges had to make the decision because there are only five slots for the grand finale. As it stands, the Ebute, Briggs, Ibrahim, Enweribe and Ikumoinein families would battle for the crown of Nigeria’s number one dance family today.

Mrs. Ngozi Nkwoji said that each eviction was always emotional but that only one winner could emerge at the end of the show. Thus the judges had the responsibility to ensure that only the best of the best families made it to the grand finale. Then Nigerians will vote for the winning family.

Maltina has over the years assembled some of the best dance instructors to train the families each year. The 2012 and 2013 instructors include Victor Phullu, an expert in Nigerian dances, Gbenga Yusuf and Lillian Yeri, experts in Pantomime, Janell Burgess, performing artist, choreographer, instructor and dancer and Muyiwa Oshinaike, a 30 year veteran of Nigerian dance and culture.

In one of the dances, they were introduced to the art of choreography classes taken by Bimbo Obafunwa, the dance director. He explained that the art of choreography was about how to put on a dance face regardless of the dance styles performing and learn how to work with dance, space, precision and so many other elements that make up a fantastic and exceptional dance routine.

Speaking on what they were thought, Patience Ebute of the Ebute family said she learnt the six basic principles of dance which involves actions, body parts, presence, dynamics, relationships and space. Joy Briggs of the Briggs family said with all she had learnt in the class she will deploy to improve his family’s performance.

Victor Phullu, a veteran dancer and trainer later introduced the families to three Wazobia dance styles, Sato dance from Badagry, Lagos State; Uyai dance from Akwa-Ibom state and Sharo dance from Sokoto, Sokoto State.

Some past winners have benefited from the MDA platform. A case in point is Ukalina Opuwari of the Opuwari family that won the 2008 edition of the show. Ukalina, with the assistance of Maltina enlisted at the Society for the Performing Arts in Nigeria (SPAN) and has become the First female Nigerian to be certified in Latin/Ballroom by the IDSF/IDAT in Beirut, Lebanon. Such is the importance that the brand attaches to the development of dancing in Nigeria using the family system as an avenue to achieve this noble objective.

The MDA Season seven will climax with a spectacular show at Eko Hotel and Suites in Lagos on September 21.