Bio & CV

Rasheed Ridwan is Nigerian-Born multidisciplinary artist raised in the downtown area of Bariga in Lagos but his family originated from Oyo state. He acquired informal training in indigenous dancing and other genre through many years of studying and performing with the footprint of David art academy. Ridwan began dancing African Indigenous dance at the age of five, His first public performance was at age 6 as a dancer in his training Academy.

After a broad knowledge on Indigenous Dance which provided him with a platform for innovations and a diverse range of work through collaboration with artists from disciplines ranging from theatre to literature, film, visual arts and music. As a choreographer with a redefined style and approach to dance for the next generation to Emulate and also Explore the relations between different cultures and creative disciplines. Working with world-class musicians, choreographers and Director from Germany, New York , USA and Poland has brought the opposing worlds of tradition and innovation face to face.

Ridwan believes that his dance is a message / history archived and coined into bodily movement to express his background through his creations, he creates a bridge that connects the past and the digital present. I am particularly interest in how the new generation of Nigerian dancers continues to make a new shape to the depth of dance and the possible future it beholds. I hope to develop, improve and build a sustainable platform for contemporary art in Nigeria. coming from a less privileged area, I am mostly inspired by the theme of my challenges; of pain, of struggles, religious and social-political in birth of a new positive revolution.

I have participated in major exhibitions and festivals across the world including Afropean festival in Frankfurt [Germany] , `Israel Festival Jerusalem , Impulse Theatre Festival in Cologne , Dokumentartage Festival Basel , Tanzpreis Award Ceremony in Essen , Dance Garthering in Lagos , Frascatti Festival in Amterdam . supporting lecturer at the FOOTPRINTS OF DAVID ART ACADEMY and Head of training for students from Different University in Nigeria .

2015 – 2016
Choreographer – UNTITLED SERIES for the F.O.D GANG (Footprints of David GANG) on a piece ”UNTITLED SERIES” a Protest dance theatre performance on societal stratification and marginalization of some sub-bub areas of Lagos Nigeria on basic infrastructures.

2016 – 2019
Performer – SORRY, an award-winning dance theatre collaboration project between the ”FOOTPRINTS OF DAVID (Nigeria) and MONSTER TRUCK (Germany). This piece is really to create sarcasm between Europe and Africa which was funded by the German cultural center.

2017
Choreographer for the AMUWO (Initiation). Amuwò is a contemporary dance piece on the importance of initiations and focusing more on the layers of pains, sacrifices and rigor that goes along in every procces of initiation. While we reawaken the needful but gainful pesiverance in initiation, Its an expression to growth and development

2021
Choreographer/ Dancer of the piece NINU AYE , The derivation of the name was on purpose after discovering alot about life, NINU AYE literally translates (inside life). We are using this piece to shed more light on happenings, coming from one of the deepest which is trafficking. This was a commission work for the Future Of Dance .

2022 – Till Date
Co-choreographer/Dancer for the project WE ARE GOING TO MARS, The choreographic concert We Are Going To Mars follows the two video works of the same name by the company Christoph Winkler, which celebrated their online premiere in November 2021: In a mixture of video, dance and music, the participating artists examined the history of the first African space programme in Zambia and its reception over the past 50 years. They also build a bridge to the work of the Afro-American musician Sun Ra, who developed his credo “Space is the place” at the same time. Project by Christoph Winkler Company {DE}

2022
Co-Choreographer/Dancer for the piece; RADICAL MINIMAL seeks new perspectives on the interplay between minimal music, contemporary dance and diversity. To this end, the artists will examine three well-known, classically abstract pieces of minimal music and reinterpret them using their own, thematically oriented choreographies by Christoph Winkler Company [ Germany 2022

Residency with LOIS Alexander and Oluwafemi Adebajo on a cultural exchange project <BERLAGOS> and BODIES OF WATERS . [LAGOS AND BERLIN] funded by NEU START KULTUR , SENATSVERWALTUNG FUR KULTUR UND EUROPA

Environmental Grant by Company Christoph Winkler for the climate change project. Future of dance company.2020.

Worked with some international art makers; Seun Awobajo Segun Adefila, Christoph Winkler, Adedayo Liadi [Ijodee], Aloali Tapu , Qudus Onikeku , Anthon Lachky , Sahar Rahimi ,Lois Alexander , Sophie Prins, Vadin Epstein , Raha Nejad , Onye Ozuzu.