Our Inspirational Student of the Month for November is Aniekan!

ANIEKAN BASSEY

Classes Attends:

When did you start dancing? 

My passion for dance and music in general started when I was really little, 4 years old according to my family. I first fell in love with my dad’s favourite genre of the time: jazz and reggae, and then in my teens I started dancing to the songs of Britney spears, Madonna, and pop / RnB music artists. Growing up I was mainly dancing over hip hop music and songs of artists like Beyonce and Rihanna, but unfortunately I never managed to take real lessons from a dance school but I took part in various musical shows.

What is your favourite style of dance and why?

I am deeply in love with everything that concerns the afrobeats world. I love its rhythms and the sound! I can’t stop dancing when I hear the beat of any afrobeat song, it’s just a vibe! It is also a type of music that conveys joy and happiness, plus my parents are from Nigeria so it’s also connected with my heritage. Regarding afrobeats dance I believe there are so many moves and styles to learn from, and it is a type of music that it’s constantly evolving so it could be sometimes difficult to keep up with it. For example, now we have amapiano which has had a big boom all over the world too!

Who inspires you to dance and why?

I am not really sure, I think it is just something that runs through my veins. My mum was a dancer in many theatres in her country and my dad used to spend days just listening to music at home so I believe it is just a passion that I have inherited from my family and made mine throughout the years.

Check out Aniekan in Afro Fusion with Jemma!

You can see more of Aniekan on Instagram @nickymelanin