African Scholar; Bata drum and dance master Jeleel Ojuade

Voices from Africa: The evolution of culture.


I have been away from the blog for a bit these days due to my commitments in New York and the constant grind required to get the word out about the good work that so many people are doing. I have been wanting to introduce the work of a fine African artist and scholar from Kwara state, for a while now. He is an expert on Yoruba Bata and Dundun dances with many years of experience in the traditional practice with a body of research on the language of the dance and the drum.


Ojuade, Jeleel Olasunkanmi is a Lecturer I and Researcher with the Performing Arts Department, Faculty of Arts, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. An expert dancer with emphasis on Yoruba Bata and Dundun dances, born 40 years ago. He holds a B.A. (Hons) from the Performing Arts Department, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Kwara State (1993), M.A. (African Studies) in Dance at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State (1997), LL.B. (Hons) Common Law (2003) and MBA in Business Administration (2006) from the University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Kwara State respectively. He belongs to a number of local and International organizations including Association of Professional Negotiator and Mediators (APNM), International Dance Council - CID-UNESCO, International Federation for Theatre Research (IFTR/FIRT) and the Society of Dance, History, Scholars (SDHS). Currently, he teaches dance with the Performing Arts Department, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Kwara State and a Ph.D Candidate in Dance at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan


Publications:

1. Ojuade, Jeleel Olasunkanmi "Dance Culture and Development in Nigeria: A Study of Gese Dance of the Yorubas",
2. Ojuade, Jeleel Olasunkanmi "African Dance in Diaspora The Yoruba example from Nigeria",