Nigerian dancer Benjamin Gabriel, known by his stage name Ben Dancer, has completed a seven-day dance marathon in an attempt to set a new Guinness World Record. The 32-year-old dancer, who is part of the group Made Kuti, grandson of Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti, danced for 176 hours, 52 minutes, and 59 seconds in a park in Lagos, Nigeria's commercial and cultural capital. Gabriel's dance marathon aimed to surpass the current record of 127 hours set by 16-year-old Indian dancer Srushti Sudhir Jagtap in 2023.
Gabriel's dance marathon was a significant event in Nigeria, where attempts to break world records have become a national sport. The dancer's assistant, Mercy Idisi, described the experience as a "spiritual experience" for Gabriel, while noting the "mental challenge" posed by the lack of sleep. To prepare for the challenge, Gabriel undertook strength and endurance training, pain-resistance exercises, and sleep-deprivation exercises over four years.
The event drew a small crowd of supporters, including a group from Gabriel's home state of Bauchi, who ate jollof rice and coleslaw while cheering him on. One of the supporters, Ibrahim, expressed his pride in Gabriel, saying that the dancer's achievement showed that he could accomplish great things from nothing and change the world through dance.
Gabriel's achievement has been praised by other Nigerians who have attempted to break world records. Tunde Onakoya, who holds the record for the longest chess marathon, attended the event and praised the "competitive and daring" spirit of Nigerians. Onakoya, who played chess continuously without a loss for 60 hours in 2024, said that Nigerians like to measure themselves against the world to prove that they are capable of all kinds of feats.
To endure the challenge, Gabriel subsisted on small portions of food and coconut water. For every hour of dancing, he was entitled to five minutes of rest, which he could accumulate at times. While awaiting official validation of his record by Guinness World Records, Gabriel hopes to serve as a cultural ambassador to promote African culture and dance.
Gabriel's motivation for attempting the record was not just about achieving a personal goal but also about promoting traditional African dances. He said that the idea of the world record was never about the record itself but about drawing the attention of the whole world to African culture and dance. After completing the dance marathon, Gabriel was taken into medical care to begin his recovery.
The event is part of a larger trend in Nigeria, where people are attempting to break world records in various fields. Last year, chef Hilda Baci broke the record for the largest serving of jollof rice, and Guinness World Records received around 1,500 applications from Nigeria in the months that followed. Last Saturday, around 51,000 people gathered in Lagos in an attempt to break the record for the largest attendance at a film screening.
Key points
- Nigerian dancer Benjamin Gabriel completes 176 hours of dancing in a bid to set a new Guinness World Record.
- Gabriel's dance marathon aimed to surpass the current record of 127 hours set by 16-year-old Indian dancer Srushti Sudhir Jagtap in 2023.
- The event is part of a larger trend in Nigeria, where people are attempting to break world records in various fields.
